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Mayor: Wang Qishan
Government office address: 2 Zhengyi Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing
Tel: 010-6519 2233
Postcode: 100001
Website: www.beijing.gov.cn
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Geographic location
Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the political and cultural center, and also one of the international communication hubs of the country. Located at 39°56' N and 116°20' E, on the northwest edge of the North China Plain, Beijing adjoins Tianjin to its east and Hebei to its north, west and south. The Bohai Sea lies about 150 km to its southeast. Beijing has 16 districts and two counties under its jurisdiction, covering an area of 16,807.8 sq km, including 87.1 sq km of urban area. |
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General Economy
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Gross domestic product (GDP)
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GDP for 2005 was 681.45 billion yuan, up 11.1% from the previous year. The annual per capita GDP reached 44,969 yuan (US$5,457), up 8.1%.
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GDP ratio (primary, secondary and tertiary industries)
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The primary industry yielded a value added of 9.77 billion yuan, down 1% from the previous year; the secondary industry, 210.05 billion yuan, up 11.7%; the tertiary industry, 461.63 billion yuan, up 11.2%. The GDP ratio of the three sectors is 1.4: 30.9: 67.7.
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Revenue and expenditure
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Municipal revenue was 91.92 billion yuan, an increase of 23.5% over the previous year. Municipal expenditure was 105.09 billion yuan, an increase of 17%.
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Consumer price index (CPI)
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CPI was 101.5, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous year.
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Investment in fixed assets
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Fixed asset investment was valued at 282.72 billion yuan, up by 11.8% from the previous year.
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Major Industries
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Agriculture
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In 2005, the city's total grain output was 949,000 tons, an increase of 35.3% from the previous year. Agricultural tourism developed rapidly in the suburbs with the annual revenue reaching 410 million yuan, up 49.3% from the previous year.
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Industry
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The industrial added value was 178.24 billion yuan, an increase of 12.8%
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High-tech
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The total added value from high-tech industries was 51.75 billion yuan, up by 20%.
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Construction
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Its added value was 31.81 billion yuan, up by 5.9%.
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Transportation
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Freight carried by various means of transport during the year amounted to 325.3 million tons, up 2.6%, including 19.76 million tons by rail, up 0.9%; 300.5 million tons by highway, up 2.7%; and 770,000 tons by airway, up 5%.
Passengers carried numbered 608.39 million, up 22.3%, including 57.78 million by rail, up 6.3%; 519.25 million by highway, up 25.2%; and 31.36 million by airway, up 10%.
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Postal services
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The annual turnover of postal operations totaled 3.35 billion yuan, 7.8% up from the previous year's.
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Telecommunications services
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The annual turnover of telecommunications services totaled 38.4 billion yuan, up by 22.7%. At the year-end, the number of fixed line subscribers reached 9.5 million, an increase of 1.026 million, and the number of mobile phone subscribers reached 14.7 million, an increase of 1.293 million.
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Retail
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The annual turnover from retail sales reached 290.28 billion yuan, an increase of 10.8% from the previous year.
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Tourism
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Foreign exchange earnings from tourism totaled US$3.62 billion, up by 14.2%. Revenue from domestic tourism totaled 130 billion yuan, up by 13.5%.
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Continued Effects of Market Reform
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Imports & exports
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The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$125.57 billion, an increase of 32.8% from the previous year. Of the amount, US$30.87 billion were from exports, up 50.1%.
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Economic and technological cooperation
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Business turnover for the year from overseas project and labor contracts totaled US$720 million, an increase of 19.5% from the previous year.
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Foreign investment
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In 2005, the city approved a total of 2,136 foreign investment projects valued at US$6.52 billion. Foreign investment realized in monetary terms was US$3.53 billion, up by 14.4% from the year before.
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Urban Construction and Management
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Road transport
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At the year-end, the bus lines numbered 622 while the length of rail traffic lines in operation reached 114 km.
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Public services
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The urban areas of the city had the capacity of treating 2.48 million cubic meters of waste water a day, accounting for 70% of the total sewage discharged. A total of 70 km of recycled water pipes were laid during the year, raising the rate of reclaiming the waste water to 30%. The garbage treatment rate in the urban areas had also reached 95.2%.
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Social Undertakings
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Science and technology
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By the end of 2005, 7,400 units with a total staff of 340,000 people were engaged in various scientific and technological activities. The annual expenditure on research and development totaled 38 billion yuan, up 20% from the previous year. A total of 38,000 technological contracts were signed, they were valued at 48.96 billion yuan.
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Education
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By the end of 2005, the city had 79 institutions of higher learning. The number of students enrolled during the year stood at 156,000. About 117,000 students graduated during the year.
The city also boasts 917 middle schools, 1,403 primary schools and 25 special schools for the handicapped.
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Culture
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The city has 26 public libraries with a total collection of 34.656 million titles, 11 municipal arts performance organizations, and 129 museums collecting a total of 3.24 million cultural objects. About 99.99% of local residents have access to radio and terrestrial television broadcasts. As at end-2005, 64.1% of the local population subscribed to cable TV services. Newspapers published in the city amounted to 253.
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Public health
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At the end of 2005, there were 7,236 medical and health institutions equipped with 78,000 beds and staffed with 116,000 people including 48,000 licensed doctors and 42,000 registered nurses.
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Sports
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There were 6,105 stadiums and gymnasiums in Beijing. The areas of outdoor exercise stations had totaled 3.76 million square meters. Athletes from Beijing won 118 gold medals, 94 silver medals and 95 bronze medals in international and national events.
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Welfare and aid
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There were 323 welfare units equipped with 32,000 beds and put up 20,000 of the city's homeless and vagrant people. About 1,770 community service facilities were established.
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Population, Employment, Social Security and Living Standards
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Population
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At the end of 2005, the resident population (the population living in the city for at least half a year) was 15.38 million, an increase of 453,000 from the previous year. The birth rate was 6.3‰, the mortality rate 5.2‰. The natural growth rate of the population stood at 1.1‰. Statistics from the public security bureau show that the population with registered permanent residences was 11.81 million, a growth of 178,000 from the previous year-end.
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Employment
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A total of 199,000 people of the unemployed population found jobs during the year.
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Registered unemployment rate
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The registered unemployment rate at the year-end was 2.11%, up by 0.81 percentage points.
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Social security
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In 2005, insurance plans for endowments, medical treatment, unemployment and industrial accidents covered a population of 5.2 million, 5.748 million, 3.946 million and 3.289 million respectively. These figures are up by 600,000, 908,000, 866,000 and 699,000 respectively from the previous year. About 155,000 urban residents and 78,000 rural residents received minimum living allowances from the government.
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Residents' income
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The disposable income of urban residents was 17,653 yuan per capita, up by 11.2% from 2004. Rural residents' per capita net income was 7,860 yuan, up by 8.1%.
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Geography and Natural Conditions
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Elevation extremes
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Mountains stand in the west, north and northeast of Beijing; the 10,417.5 sq km of mountainous areas, with an average elevation of 1,000-1,500 meters, account for 62 percent of its total territory. In its southeast lies the vast North China Plain of 6,390.3 kilometers, with an average altitude of 20-60 meters above sea level. The 2,303-meter-high Mount Lingshan on the border between Beijing and Hebei is the highest peak of the city.
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Climate
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Beijing has a semi-humid climate with clearly cut four seasons: short spring and autumn and long winter and summer. The average annual temperature is 13°C (averaging 25.2°C in July, the hottest month, and 3.7°C in January, the coldest month). The average annual rainfall is 507.7 mm and the frost-free period is 180-200 days. The average annual sun radiance is 135 Cal/square centimeter.
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Natural resources
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Five rivers flow across the city, including Chaobai and Beiyun rivers in its east and the Yongding and Juma rivers in its west. Most of the rivers originate from the city's northwestern mountainous areas and, after winding southeastwards across the plain areas, flow into the Bohai Sea. The 174 km Yongding River running through southwest Beijing is the city's biggest river. Beijing has 30 big and small lakes, including such major ones as Kunming, Yuyuantan, Beihai, Zhonghai, Nanhai, Qianhai, Houhai, Xihai, Longtan, Taoranting and Zizhuyuan. Beijing's surface water totals 2.53 billion cubic meters and its ground water reserve is 2.63 billion cubic meters.
Beijing's mountainous areas produce various minerals such as coal and iron ores as well as building materials such as granite and marble.
The forest coverage in Beijing had reached 50.5% by the end of 2005. There are now 20 nature reserves covering a total area of 1,342 sq km and 7 ecological demonstration zones covering a total area of 9,246 sq km.
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Tourism resources
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Human activities began in the Beijing area some half a million years ago. The recorded history of Beijing as a city can date back to more than 3,000 years ago. In 1271 Kublai Khan renamed the city and decided to build it as the capital of his empire, and since then, Beijing served as a national capital for more than 700 years, being one of China's seven great ancient capitals. In this famed historical and cultural city, cultural heritage sites and scenic spots are found everywhere. Ancient palace groups, temples, parks, ancient pagodas with rock carvings, imperial gardens and tombs, former residences of historic personages throng the city side by side with modern buildings of museums and memorial halls.
Beijing has a total of 7,309 cultural heritage sites, including 42 under state protection and 222 under municipal protection. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Park), the Summer Palace and the Ming Tombs (Shisanling) are on the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Beijing has over 200 scenic spots open to visitors, such as the Forbidden City, the Beihai Park, the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall, Yonghegong Lamasery, Tanzhe Temple, Fragrant Hills, the Ruins of the Yuanmingyuan, the Eight Great Sites, Longqing Gorge, Shihua Cave and etc.
There are 456 tourist hotels, including 407 star-rated hotels offering a total of 84,000 guest rooms. Serving travelers to Beijing are 456 travel agencies with 5,000 tour guides speaking 21 languages. Beijing is one of the "Excellent Chinese Tourist Cities"; awarded by the China National Tourism Administration.
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