Peking

also Beijing, is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. Beijing has over three thousand years of history and is one of China’s four municipalities, meaning it has the status of a province. The entire 16,411 square kilometer (almost half the size of North Rhine-Westphalia) administrative area of Beijing has 21,893,095 inhabitants. As the capital, Beijing is the political center of China. Due to its long history, Beijing is home to an important cultural heritage. The annual gross domestic product (GDP) was 560 billions euro in 2023. Metropolitan area GDP per capita was 25.614 euro in 2023, making Beijing one of the richest cities in China. Beijing is the city with the highest number of Fortune Global 500 companies. Beijing is now the second largest industrial center in the country. Important industries were located in the satellite cities: petrochemical manufacturing in Fangshan, machinery manufacturing in Fentai, iron and steel manufacturing in Shijingshan, and motor vehicle manufacturing in Tongxian.