Beijing

American  

[bey-jing] / ˈbeɪˈdʒɪŋ /

(Older Spelling) Peking

noun

Pinyin.

1. a city in and the capital of the People's Republic of China, in the northeastern part, in central Hebei province: traditional capital of China.

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Beijing British  

/ ˈbeɪˈdʒɪŋ /

noun

1. Former English name: Peking.  the capital of the People's Republic of China, in the northeast in Beijing municipality (traditionally in Hebei province); the country's second largest city: dates back to the 12th century _bc ; consists of two central walled cities, the Outer City (containing the commercial quarter) and the Inner City, which contains the Imperial City, within which is the Purple or Forbidden City; many universities. Pop: 10 849 000 (2005 est)

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Beijing Cultural  

1. Capital of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast region of the country. It is the second-largest city of China (after Shanghai) and the political, cultural, financial, educational, and transportation center of the country. The West knew it for many years as Peking.

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Site of Tiananmen Square, where communist leaders suppressed a democratic protest in June 1989.

The Forbidden City, within the inner or Tatar City, was the residence of the emperor of China.

In 1949, the Chinese communists declared Beijing the capital of the People's Republic of China.

Example Sentences

Beijing knows that a distracted superpower is a slow superpower.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Critical to withstanding pressure from the Middle East war is a long-term push by Beijing to ensure energy security, which experts say is now bearing fruit.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

His wealth and status have since plummeted, as Beijing has moved to crack down on corruption in the financial sector.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Valencia added that Manila had raised the alleged poisoning with Beijing at a recent meeting but had received no formal response.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Jia Hong-yu, our district’s most famous Red Guard leader, had returned from Beijing and would give her report at a neighborhood meeting.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang