China
China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, paper-making, gunpowder and printing. The Great Wall, Grand Canal and Karez irrigation system are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. Now they are the symbols of the rich culture of the Chinese nation. As one of the largest countries by land mass and the most populous nations on earth, China has overtaken the UK and France as the fourth largest economy in the world after USA, Japan and Germany. China's enormous production and consumer demands are making the nation the world's largest consumer of most minerals and metals. China is rapidly becoming a new center of economic power, greatly influencing the global economy.

Beijing, Capital of China
The capital city of China, Beijing is a fast-growing, dynamic metropolis that, while courting foreign businesses and visitors, maintains a firm grip on its rich cultural heritage and a strictly Communist social order. It is a monolithic showcase that can give a distorted view of China to foreign visitors. Beijing is a modern city with high-rise buildings, shopping malls and vast international hotels connected by an intricate freeway system crisscrossing the city. In the rush hour, traffic jams can match those of any major city around the world and the ringing of mobile phones is incessant. However, the modern buildings conceal traditional hutongs, parks, numerous architectural treasure and exquisite yellow-tiled temples whose prayer flags and wind chimes move in the breeze created by the passing traffic.

History
Beijing in Chinese means "capital in the north". Its establishment could be traced back to more than 3000 years ago. From 1272 to 1911, Beijing was the capital of Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Beijing is the capital of new China.

Geography
Beijing is located at 115°20' to 117°32' east longitude and 3923' to 4105' north altitude, the same altitude as Rome, Madrid and Philadelphia. Its neighbors are hebei Province and Tianjin City. Its total land area is 16,808 squre kilometers, among which the mountain areas account for 52% and are distributed in its western, northern and northeastern parts, and the plain accounts for 38% and is distributed in its southern and southeastern parts.

Climate
Beijing is located in the temperate zone affected by continental monsoon. The spring and autumn in Beijing are shorter and dry while the summer and winter are relatively longer. October is the ending of the autumn. The temperature of October is about 17℃, sometimes the temperature goes down abruptly due to the cold air coming from western Siberia.

Transportation
Beijing has an extensive public transportation network. Subway and City Rail with high speed trains running at intervals of 3 to 5 minutes are the fastest public transportation in the city. Public buses are the cheapest means of transportation which cover the entire city.
The starting fare of public buses is 1 yuan in the city and 2 yuan in the suburb areas.
Beijing Subway fares vary on different lines. Single trip on Line Batong is 2 yuan, single trip on Line 1, Line 2 and City Rail Line 13 is 2 yuan, the transfer set ticket between Line 13 and any city line is 2 yuan, and the transfer set ticket between Line Batong and any city line is 2 yuan.
In addition to the buses, subways and city light rails, the taxis are also available in Beijing. Taking a taxi has a common name of "Da Di" in Beijing. The cheapest price for a taxi ride is 10 yuan and the price following the 3-km taxi ride is 2 yuan/km. Do not forget to keep your invoice. In case you leave any articles aboard, the invoice can help you find the taxi drivers.

Chinese Cooking
Chinese food is deliciously tasty and the variety of flavors is so cleverly contained in each dish that there is nothing incongruous in the serving of meat and poultry in the same course. As the result, both cooking and eating Chinese food can be pleasingly adventurous. Besides looking highly decorative and tasting superb, Chinese food is also most nourishing, retaining all its vitamins with quick, minimum cooking.