Geography of Beijing
| Geography of Beijing | |
Satellite image of Beijing Municipality, showing the city of Beijing (in pink) with mountains in the north and west and plains to the east and south
| |
| Continent | Asia |
| Location | North China Plain |
| Coordinates | 39°54′N 116°24′E / 39.900°N 116.400°E |
| Area (municipality) | Total: 16,801 square kilometres (6,487 sq mi) |
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Beijing Municipality consists of six city districts (previously eight, see Xuanwu and Chongwen), eight suburban districts and two rural counties. It covers a total area of 16,807.8 km2 (6,489.5 sq mi). By land area, the municipality is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, though much of the municipality outside the urban core are sparsely populated mountains and farmland. The terrain is roughly 38% flat and 62% mountainous.[1] The city is 150 km (93 mi) inland from the Bohai Sea via Tianjin Municipality in the southeast. Aside from Tianjin, Beijing is bordered on all other sides by Hebei Province, including a piece wedged between Beijing and Tianjin.
Historically, Beijing was situated on the border between sedentary agricultural areas to the south and pastoralist regions beyond the mountains to the north. The Great Wall of China was built across the mountains north of Beijing to guard against nomadic invasions. In modern times, the same mountains that shielded Beijing from the Gobi steppes also form a semi-circular basin which catches the city's air pollution. Severe smog problems develop in the summer as the hot and humid air pressure from monsoons in the south prevent air pollutants from leaving the basin. Smog is less severe in the fall and winter when the direction of the wind currents reverse course as the vast anticyclone high pressure system takes hold and brings cold, dry air from Siberia. In the spring, the northerly winds, pick up dust from desertifying areas of western China and bring occasionally severe dust storms to Beijing. The city's climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and cold, windy, and dry winters.
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[hide]Layout of Beijing's Administrative Divisions[edit]
In imperial times, the old walled city of Beijing occupied 62 km2 (24 sq mi).[1] The physical size of the city has grown more than tenfold in recent decades to about 750 km2 (290 sq mi). The inner suburbs (1,282 km2 or 495 sq mi), and outer suburbs (3,198 km2 or 1,235 sq mi) provide further space for growth.[1] The remaining 12,239.9 km2 (4,725.9 sq mi) of the municipality consists of rural areas, nature reserves and lightly populated mountains.[1]
The inner city is divided into eastern and western halves by Dongcheng and Xicheng Districts. The Forbidden City, where emperors once lived, and Tiananmen Square, the center of the city, both belong to Dongcheng. But the Zhongnanhai Compound, next door to the Forbidden City, where China’s current leaders now reside, and the Great Hall of the People, on the west side of Tiananmen Square, both are part of Xicheng. The outer city, adjacent and south of the inner city, comprises the former Xuanwu and Chongwen districts, merged with Xicheng and Dongcheng respectively in July 2010. Chongwen is home to the Temple of Heaven. Xuanwu is oldest continuously inhabited part of Beijing. Some of its neighborhoods including those around the Niujie Mosque (b. 996 A.D.) and Pagoda of Tianning Temple (b. 1119 A.D.) predate the Yuan capital. Unlike in most other parts of the city, most narrow lanes in Xuanwu are called jie instead of hutongs. Each of the two core city districts has population density of over 20000 persons/km2 (51800 persons/sq. mi.)
Of the suburban districts further afield, Tongzhou and Shunyi in the east are rapidly urbanizing. Mentougou and Fangshan lie to the west, in Xishan, also known as the Western Hills. Fangshan is home to two of the oldest prehistoric sites in Beijing Municipality: the caves at Zhoukoudian, home of the Peking Man, and Liulihe, the site of the capital of the Yan Kingdom during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Daxing District, to the south, is largely agricultural but is also developing its own technology park in Yizhuang. Changping just north of the city ranges from densely urbanized Tiantongyuan in the south to the Juyongguan Great Wall in the north. In between are the Thirteen Ming Tombs.
Far north of the municipality in the Yanshan range are Yanqing and Miyun Counties, and Huairou and Pinggu Districts, both of which were rural counties until 2001. The far north is rugged, rural and sparsely populated. Yanqing, Huairou and Miyun all have fewer than 200 residents per km2 (518/sq. mi.). They are perhaps best known for stretches of the Great Wall, with Badaling and Shuiguan in Yanqing, Mutianyu, Huanghuacheng and Jiankou in Huairou, and Gubeikou and Simatai in Miyun, and Jiangjunguan in Pinggu.
Topography[edit]
Jingshan, the highest point in the old walled city of Beijing.
Looking north from atop Jingshan Hill along Di'anmen Avenue to the Drum Tower of Beijing. Di'anmen Avenue runs along Beijing's median axis. Dongcheng District is to the right and Xicheng is to the left. The Yanshan range north of the city is faintly visible in the distance.
To the west is Xishan, also known as the Western Hills, which are visible from the city on clear days. Xishan forms the eastern flank of the Taihang Mountains range, which run north-south up the spine of Hebei province.[5] Xishan covers nearly all of Fangshan and Mentougou Districts west of the city. East Lingshan (elevation 2,303 metres (7,556 ft)), a Xishan peak on the border with Hebei, is the highest point in Beijing Municipality.[5] It is located 122 km (76 mi) from the city. Xishan is also known for high mountain meadows and scenic river gorges, including Shidu. Foothills of Xishan reach the city itself. They include Fragrant Hills, a major tourist attraction and Laoshan, the site of mountain bike competition in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
The mountains north of Beijing including Badaling, Jundu Mountains and Fenghuanling all belong to the Yanshan range, which runs east-west, across northern Hebei Province. Yanshan separates the North China Plain from the steppes and held considerable military significance in history. All of Beijing's Great Wall sections were built in the Yanshan range, which reaches a height of 2,241 m (7,352 ft) at Haituoshan on the border between Yanqing County and Hebei.[5]
The Yanshan and Xishan ranges meet at Nankou, in Changping District, northwest of the city. The intersection creates a massive fault line and rift valley through which the city's main roads and railroads to the northwest pass.
Hydrology[edit]
Several major rivers, including the Yongding, Chaobai, Juma and Wenyu flow through Beijing Municipality. They originate in the highlands of Hebei and Shanxi, cut through the mountains west and north of the city, and eventually flow into the Hai River, which empties into the Bohai Sea. Over the centuries, the hydrologists have channeled rivers through the city into man-made lakes, moats, channels and aqueducts, which provide water to the city and drain its refuse, but no longer threaten Beijing with flooding.
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