BEIJING, CHINA

Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, is the political, cultural, financial, educational, and transportation centre of the country. Several cities under various names have existed at this site since 723B.C. The nucleus of the modern city was Kublai Khan's capital, Cambuluc, from 1260-1290. Beijing was captured by the British and French in 1860, who forced the Chinese government to concede the Legation Quarter for foreign settlements. This cession was one of the factors responsible for the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. The Japanese occupied the city after the Marco Polo Bridge incident in 1937 and established a puppet government in the city. Beijing has many of the greatest examples of Chinese architecture from the Ming and Ch’ing dynasties, including the Temple of Heaven (15^th century); the temple of Confucius, built by Kublai Khan; the Forbidden City which contains the Imperial Palace; and the Summer palace built by the empress Tz’u His at the end of the 19^th century. It is the seat of more than 25 institutions of higher learning, including Peking University, the People’s University of China, Tsinghua University, the Peking Institute of Foreign Languages, two medical colleges, and many technical and scientific schools. The Peking Zoo is famous for its collection of pandas. The Great Wall of China and Ming Tombs are located near the city.