History
On the site of present-day Beijing stood Yenching, capital of the feudal state of Yen until its conquest by the first emperor of China in 221 B.C. The Mongols virtually destroyed Yenching in their conquest of northern China in the early 1200's. In 1264 Kublai Khan built a new city, Khanbalik (city of Khan), on the remains of the earlier city and made it the capital of the Mongol Empire.
The Mongols were expelled in the 1300's by the native Ming dynasty, which began its reign from its capital at Nanking. In 1421, however the capital was moved to its former site, and the city was rebuilt and renamed Beijing. The Imperial Palace was constructed at that time. In 1644 the Ming dynasty was overthrown by the Manchus, a union of Tungus tribes from the north. Under the anchus, the Imperial Palace was largely rebuilt. It bacame known as the Forbidden City because commoners and foreigners were forbidden to enter it.
In 1800 an Anglo-French expedition occupied the city in reprisal for violence against French and English residents, and foreign legislations were established in Beijing for the first time. These became the targets of the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, a violent reaction against foreign intrusion. This revolt was crushed by European, Japanese, and United States troops.
Revolution against Manchu rule broke out in 1911, and in the following year a republic was established, with Beijing remaining as capital. Later, a rival government arose in the south. In 1928 its forces overthrew the Beijing government, and the capital was moved once more to Nanking.
From 1937 to 1945 Beijing was occupied by Japanese invaders. At the close of World War II, government tropps returned to the city. They were driven out in 1949 by the Chinese Communists, who made Beijing their capital. The new rulers began an extensive program of rebuilding. Many public buildings were constructed and new residential and industrial districts created. The city's subway system was opened in 1969. The city's Tiananmen Square was the site of massive pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989 that were brutally put down by the government.
Population: Beijing proper, 12,887,000; the municipality, 16,407,734.
