facts and figures

Population: 15m

Language: Mandarin

Public holidays 2006
Jan 1-2 - New Year
Jan 29-31 - Chinese New Year
Mar 8 - International Working Women's Day
May 1 - Labour Day
May 4 - Youth Day
Jun 1 - International Children's Day
Aug 1 - Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army
Oct 1 - National Day

Telephone codes
Country code: +86
City code: 010

Currency

The Chinese renminbi (Rmb) is also known as the yuan. 1 yuan equals 10 jiao; 1 jiao equals 10 fen. Notes are issued in the following denominations: 100, 50, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan. Coins (jiao and fen) come in denominations of 5, 2 and 1.

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Time zone: GMT + 8 hours

Electricity

Two-pin plugs and sockets are used. The electricity supply is 220 volts AC, 50Hz.

Economic profile

It may be hard for today’s visitors to imagine, but just two decades ago Beijing was an Asian backwater, a hardship post for the expats who were beginning to trickle into the city. Despite reforms launched by Deng Xiaoping in 1979, the Chinese capital remained largely undeveloped, the result of politics taking precedence over economics for three decades. A shortage of decent apartments and office buildings forced many foreign companies to operate out of hotel rooms. Restaurants were basic and simple, nightlife was almost non-existent, and the streets were still ruled by highly coveted Flying Pigeon bicycles.

In the 1990s, however, the private sector began to take off and was soon employing more of the city’s populace than the state. As Beijing’s 15m residents began to enjoy unprecedented prosperity, they snapped up new apartments, cars, TV sets, household appliances, mobile phones and other high-end items. Entrepreneurs raced to open bars, clubs and restaurants as increasingly well-to-do citizens embraced a whole new lifestyle. Soon hip Beijingers with good jobs were sipping cappuccinos at Starbucks while discussing the most recent Iranian film.

China’s successful bid to host the 2008 Olympics has had a profound effect on the city’s economic and physical development and the government has launched a massive urban-renewal programme. New skyscrapers jostle with huge shopping malls, department stores and five-star hotels. The government is hoping that the Olympics will boost the city, since the games are expected to attract $16.65 billion in direct investment and create 1.82m new jobs. On the back of this, the city government predicts that GDP will grow at a hefty 9% per year until 2010.

Unfortunately, modernisation has also had a negative impact. Many of the charming hutongs, courtyard houses and historical sites have fallen to the wrecking ball, to make way for apartment complexes, office buildings and widened streets that are needed to accommodate the Olympic throng. Traffic is becoming slower and slower, with 1.54m cars crowding the capital's streets—one in ten Beijing residents now owns a car and in 2005 there were 1,000 new vehicles on the streets every day. Water supplies are also increasingly critical in Beijing: the demands of massive urban industry and a growing population cause problems in a city which is neither near the sea nor close to a large river.