capital of china

What is the capital of China?

 Which city is the political center of China? The answer is Beijing. Beijing is also the hot travel destination in the world. 

Beijing, which means "Northern Capital" (from the Chinese characters 北 for north and 京 for capital), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most heavily populated cities in the world.The largest city in China is Shanghai while Beijing is the capital city.

 Besides being the capital, Beijing is among the most populated capital city. 

Yes “Beijing is China's capital,” says Arkell. “Shanghai is China's capital capital”.But Most of the major commercial decisions in China are made in Shanghai.

 capital of china Beijing, located in Northern China, is the capital of china capital city of the country and has been the center of political activity in the nation for much of the past eight centuries.

The largest city in China is Shanghai while Beijing is the capital city. Besides being the capital, Beijing is among the most populated capital city in the world. The national government of China rules the city directly through the municipal government. The name Beijing was chosen in 1403 and means northern capital, a reference to the city's location in the North of China.
Beijing will have the distinction of being the only city in the world so far to host
 both the Summer Olympics, which Beijing hosted in 2008 and the Winter Olympics which it will host in 2022.

The History Of Beijing

The city's history dates back more than 200,000 years ago to the prehistoric era. This has been determined by the fossils of Homo erectus that have been discovered within the area.

In 1045 BC a town named Jicheng was constructed in the location of modern-day Guang'anmen area.

At the time it was the capital city of the nation of Ji which was the first of six times that the city would be the capital of a state.

The Xianbei kingdom also selected Jicheng as their capital for a brief period after Wu Hu had subjugated the area.

During the reign of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di chose Beijing as his capital replacing Yingtian.

It was during the Ming Dynasty rule that some of Beijing's most iconic buildings such as the Forbidden City were constructed.

 In 1644 an army of peasants put an end to the Ming Dynasty by capturing their capital.

In 1949 Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed Beijing as the capital of the newly formed People's Republic of China.

 Due to the city's long history, UNESCO has listed seven of the city's most iconic structures as World Heritage Sites.

Urban Development In Beijing

Beijing is one of the most developed cities in the world with factories, skyscrapers, and large corporations coexisting in the city.

 The government has invested in transport, particularly road transport, by constructing several ring roads.

 The city has several shopping districts that have developed over the years and are quite popular with tourists.

The urban development has had some negative effects such as the destruction of cultural centres to make space for new buildings, and the heavy traffic caused by a large number of vehicles on the roads.

Pollution In Beijing

The city has gained notoriety for poor air quality because of a large number of industries in the Hebei region that borders Beijing.

 The industries' main source of energy is coal which produces noxious fumes after burning.

Many homes in Beijing have air filters to ensure that the residents are breathing good quality air.

The Chinese government has undertaken various projects to reduce the pollution and improve the city's air quality.

The Growth Of Cities In China

The Chinese government estimates that more than 300 million people will migrate from rural areas to urban areas by 2025.

The people will move mainly in search for jobs that are more available in urban areas. Modern amenities in cities also attract large numbers of migrants.

To ensure sustainable development, the Chinese government has undertaken various initiatives, for example, constructing new towns in rural areas to stem the flow of migrants.

China is home to 56 ethnic groups, all of whom have played a critical role in the development of the various languages spoken in China. 

Linguists believe that there are 297 living languages in China today. These languages are geographically defined, and are found in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet. 

Mandarin Chinese is the most popular language in China, with over 955 million speakers out of China’s total population of 1.21 billion people.

National Language of China: 

Standard Chinese is the official language in mainland China, as well as in Taiwan, and is also known as Standard Mandarin or Modern Standard Mandarin. 

The language is a standardized dialect of Mandarin language, but features aspects of other dialects in its usage, including written vernacular Chinese in the language’s grammar, Mandarin dialects in its vocabulary,

 and the Beijing dialect in the pronunciation of its words. In mainland China, Standard Chinese is also known as Putonghua (loosely translating to “common speech”), 

while in Taiwan the language is referred to as Guoyu, which loosely translates to “national language." 

The use of Standard Chinese in mainland China is regulated by the National Language Regulating Committee, 

while the National Languages Committee is mandated to regulate the language’s use in Taiwan.

 The law provides Standard Chinese as the lingua franca in China and is used as a means of communication, enabling speakers of unintelligible varieties of Chinese languages.

 Mainland China has a law titled the “National Common Language and Writing Law,” whose provisions call for the mandatory promotion of Standard Chinese by the Chinese government.

 Records from China’s Ministry of Education show that about 70% of the population in mainland China can speak Standard Chinese, 

but only 10% can speak the language fluently. Standard Chinese is incorporated into the education curriculum in both mainland China as well as in Taiwan, with the government aiming to have the language achieve a penetration of at least 80% across the country by 2020. 

In its written format, Standard Chinese uses both simplified Chinese characters (used mainly in Putonghua), as well as traditional Chinese characters (used primarily in Guoyu). 

For the braille system, the language uses Taiwanese Braille, Mainland Chinese Braille, and Two-Cell Chinese Braille.

Official Languages of China

Another language that has official status in China is Cantonese. 

The origin of the language can be traced to the port city of Guangzhou, from where its use spread throughout the Pearl River Delta. 

Guangzhou is also known as Canton, and it is from this city that the language got its name. Cantonese is used as the official language in Hong Kong, 

as provided for by the Hong Kong Basic Law, and is utilized in all government communication, including court and tribunal proceedings. 

Cantonese is also the official language in Macau, along with Portuguese. The use of Cantonese in Hong Kong is regulated by the Official Language Division of the Civil Service Bureau, a government institution. 

In Macau, the use of the language is regulated by the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau. According to linguists, Cantonese is defined as a variant of the Chinese language or as a prestige variant of Yue,

 a subdivision of Chinese. When classified with other closely related Yuehai dialects, Cantonese has about 80 million speakers across the country. In the Guangzhou province, Cantonese is used as the lingua franca as well as in the neighboring region of Guangxi. Cantonese can be divided into three main dialects: the Guangzhou dialect, Hong Kong dialect, and Macau dialect. All of these dialects are geographically defined. 

Written Cantonese uses traditional Chinese characters, as well as characters from written vernacular Chinese. Blind Cantonese speakers use the Cantonese braille system.

Regional Languages of China

Wu Chinese is a dialect of Chinese that is predominantly spoken in the eastern region of China.

 The language exists in six main subgroups, which are geographically defined. These subgroups include Taihu, 

Taizhou, Oujiang, Wuzhou, Chu-Qu, and Xuanzhou. 

The language can also be divided into 14 varieties, which include the Shanghainese, Huzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo, Suzhou, Changzhou, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Xuanzhou, Chuqu, Taizhou, Wuzhou, 

and Oujiang dialects. The total number of Wu speakers in China is estimated to be about 80 million people. Fuzhou is a dialect of Houguan Chinese subgroup and a prestige variety of the Eastern Min branch of the Chinese language.

 The dialect is classified as one of the major regional languages in China and has speakers predominantly located in the Fujian province. 

The dialect is centered in the city of Fuzhou, from which the dialect gets its name.

 The total number of Fuzhou speakers is estimated to be over 10 million all over the country.

The Hokkien dialect is another major regional language in China. The language is a dialect of the Southern Min language group.

 The dialect originated from the Fujian province and spread to different regions in southeastern China. Today, the total number of Hokkien dialect speakers is estimated to be about 37 million people. In Taiwan, Hokkien is one of the statutory languages used for the signage in public transportation. The Hokkien dialect is divided into ten dialects, which include Medan, Penang, Taiwanese, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, and Singaporean. Other regional languages include Hakka, Xiang, Foochow, and Gan.

Foreign Languages Spoken in China

English is one of the most critical foreign languages in China, with about 10 million speakers all over the country. The majority of English speakers are found in the urban centers of the country. 

In Hong Kong, English is established as an official language and is used in both print and electronic media. English is also used as a lingua franca in China during international engagements.

 Another major international language in China is Portuguese, which is used as the official language in Macau.

Sign Language in China

Chinese Sign Language is the primary sign language used among the deaf population in mainland China and Taiwan and is used by a significant percentage of the estimated 20 million deaf people in China. Tibetan Sign Language is used by the deaf residents of Tibet, and particularly in the Lhasa region. Tibetan Sign Language exists as a standardized language, which was formulated between 2001 and 2004. In the past, the use of sign Language in China was discouraged and in some cases completely banned as people believed that it would further inhibit a child’s auditory capabilities.

What Language is Spoken in China?

Linguists believe that there are 297 living languages in China today. These languages are geographically defined, and are found in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet. Mandarin Chinese is the most popular language in China, with over 955 million speakers out of China’s total population of 1.21 billion people.

Overview of Languages Spoken in China

Rank	Languages in China
1	Standard Chinese (Mandarin)
2	Yue (Cantonese)
3	Wu (Shanghainese)
4	Minbei (Fuzhou)
5	Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese)
6	Xiang
7	Gan
8	Hakka
9	Zhuang
10	Mongolian
11	Uighur
12	Krygyz
13	Tibetan