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Zhengzhou (郑州 pinyin: zhèng zhou) formerly called Zhengxian, is located 24 km south of Huanghe (Yellow River). It is the capital of Henan province in China.Population: 5.97 million.

History
Shang Dynasty established Aodu (see also: History of China). The pre-historical city had been long lost even before the time of the first emperor.

The name of Zhengzhou came from Sui Dynasty (581 AD) albeit it was located in Chenggao, another town. The government was moved to the contemporary city during Tang Dynsty.

Economy

Yinchuan is the capital of Ningxia Autonomous Region, China.

Area: 4467 km
Population: 736,300

Geography
Longitude: east 105?49’ ? 106?35’
Latitude: north 38?08’ ? 38?51’

Climate
Not too cold in winter, not too hot in summer. The annual average temperature is 8.5.

Annual average rainfall: 200 ?
Annual frost time: 158 days

Economy
GDP per capita was ¥11975 (ca. US$1450) in 2003, ranked no. 197 among 659 Chinese cities.
Industry: produce bearing
Agriculture: Chinese wolfberry, wheat, apple, rice

Miscellaneous
Tourism: sand-lake, XiXia mausoleum

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Xi'an (西安; pinyin: xi an, Wade-Giles: Hsi-An, literal meaning: "Western Peace") is the capital of Shaanxi province, in China and a sub-provincial city. It was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of 12 dynasties such as Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern end of the Silk Road. The city has more than 3,100 years of history. It was called Chang'an, meaning "Perpetual Peace", in ancient times.

The city is surrounded by a well-preserved defensive wall.

The Tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi and his Terracotta Army are located outside the city.

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Xiamen is a coastal sub-provincial city in Fujian Province, southern China.

Area: 1565.09 km² (300 km² water)
Population: 1,371,600 (late 2002)
GDP per capita: ¥38567 (ca. US$4660) in 2003, ranked no 9 among 659 Chinese cities.
Xiamen is also known as Amoy internationally, which is how "Xiamen" is spoken in Northern Min, the vernacular of the provincial capital Fuzhou. In the vernacular of Xiamen, known as Southern Min, it is pronounced E-mng. The placename means "The Gate of the Grand Mansion".

History
The place was made Tong'an District in 282, a sub-entity of Jin'an Prefecture. In 1387, the Ming Empire used it as base against pirates, and was part of Quanzhou. Koxinga stationed here in 1650, naming it Siming Island, or "Remembering the Ming", but the city was renamed by the Manchus in 1680 to Xiamen Subprefecture. The name "Siming" was reverted after the 1912 Xinhai Revolution and made a county. The following it was reverted to Xiamen City. In 1949, Xiamen became a provincial city, then upgraded to a vice-province-class city, or a municipality. It was made a Special Economic Zone in 1980.

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Wuhàn (Traditional Chinese: 武漢, Simplified Chinese: 武汉) is the capital of Hubei province, the most populated city in central China, lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers.

Geography
The city comprises three towns - Wuchang, Hànkou, and Hànyáng which face each other across the rivers and are linked by three bridges. It is simple in geographical structure - low and flat in the middle and hilly in the south, with the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) and Han rivers winding through the city.

Wuhàn (Traditional Chinese: 武漢, Simplified Chinese: 武汉) is the capital of Hubei province, the most populated city in central China, lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers.

Urumqi (乌鲁木齐 population about 1.6 million ) is the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.

It is the largest city in the western half of China. The GDP per capita was ¥17655 (ca. US$2130) in 2003, ranked no. 94 among 659 Chinese cities.

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Tianjin (天津; pinyin: tian jin, Postal System Pinyin: Tientsin) is a harbour municipality in China on the Hai He River (from Beijing) and Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea (Pacific Ocean). The placename literally means "the Heavenly Port".

Tianjin is one of four independent municipalities in the People's Republic of China with provincial-level status. Historically, the city was, for a time, the capital of Hebei Province.

History
The city was first settled in 1404 AD during Ming Dynasty as a fort, named Tianjin Wei (Fort Tianjin).

Taiyuan (太原, pinyin: Tàiyuán, Wade-Giles:T'ai-yüan) is a city in China, capital of the Shanxi province.

The GDP per capita was ¥12821 (ca. US$1550) in 2003, ranked no. 171 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Taiyaun is an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi in ca. 500 BC, named Jinyang. It was renamed Taiyuan in Qin Dynasty.

A new city was built in 562 AD, which was later linked to the old city during Tang Dynasty (733 AD).

In 617 AD, Li Yuan and his son Li Shimin rebelled against Sui Dynasty, and founded Tang Dynasty.

The oldest existing building in the city is the Temple of Goddess inside the Jin Ci Complex; it was originally built in 1023 AD and reconstructed in 1102 AD.

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T'ai-pei (WG), (台北, pinyin: Táibei, tai.: Tâi-pak), is the provisional capital of the Republic of China on Taiwan. It also was the capital of Taiwan Province until the 1960s when that was moved to Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un. Its population in 2000 is 2,600,543.

Major industries include electrical and electronic equipment, textiles, metals, ship-building, and motorcycles.

Administratively in Chinese, "Taipei" can refer to Taipei City, which is a special municipality administered directly under the central government; or Taipei County, which is administered as part of Taiwan Province. This article focuses on the City.

Suzhou (蘇州 / 苏州, Hanyu Pinyin: Suzhou, Wade-Giles: Su-chou, sometimes seen transliterated as Su-chow, Suchow, or Soochow) is one of the most famous cities in China. It lies in the lower reaches of the Yangtze and on the shores of lake Taihu in the province of Jiangsu. It is part of the Golden Triangle region. The city enjoys advantageous geography and excellent land, water and air transportation. The GDP per capita was ¥30470 (ca. US$3680) in 2003, ranked no. 25 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangzi Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the late Shang Dynasty lived in the area which would become Suzhou.

Shijiazhuang (石家莊/石家庄) (Pinyin: Shíjiazhuang) is a city just south of Beijing and is the Capital of Hebei Province.

Shijiazhuang is a transportation hub: it is at the intersection point of the Beijing-Guangzhou and Taiyuan-Huanghua railroads and expressways. It is also an important industrial city, especially in cotton textiles, and chemical-related industrie

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Shenzhen (深圳; pinyin: Shenzhèn, Yale: sàm jan Penkyamp: sam1 dzan3; lit. deep drains) is a sub-provincial city of Guangdong province in southern Mainland China, located at the border with Hong Kong.

History
The one-time fishing village of Shenzhen, singled-out by late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, is a so-called one of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in China originally established in 1978 in competition with Hong Kong, then a British colony.

Shenzhen, formerly known as "Bao'an County", was promoted to prefecture level, directly governed by the Guangdong province in November 1979. In May 1980, Shenzhen was formally nominated as a 'special economic zone,'the first one of its kind in China. It was given the right of provincial-level economic administration in November 1988.

Shenyang (Traditional Chinese: 沉陽, Simplified Chinese: 沉阳, Hanyu Pinyin: Shènyáng) is the capital of Liaoning province in China. It is a sub-provincial city.

History
In 1625 the Manchu leader Nurhaci moved his capital to Shenyang. It was renamed to Mukden (in Chinese, 九一八事变) in 1634. Shenyang remained the capital of the Qing Dynasty until the relocation to Beijing in 1644.

Since 1657 Shenyang had been called Fengtianfu until it was changed back to its old name Shenyang in 1914.

During the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), there was a Japanese victory at Shenyang on February 19-March 10, 1905.

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Shanghai (上海, pinyin: shàng hai; Shanghainese IPA ASCII: /zANhE/) is China's largest city and is situated on the banks of the Chang Jiang delta. In Chinese, Shanghai's abbreviations are Hù and Shen. The name Shanghai literally means "on the sea" or "onto the sea." Administratively, Shanghai is one of 4 municipalities of the People's Republic of China, which have provincial-level status.

Administration
Shanghai is divided into 18 districts and 1 county:

Districts
Baoshan
Changning
Fengxian
Hongkou
Huangpu

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Qingdao (Traditional Chinese: 青島, Simplified Chinese: 青岛, Pinyin: Qingdao, Wade-Giles: Ch'ing-tao) is a port sub-provincial city in the Shandong province of China, located at the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, in Jiaozhou Bay, facing the Yellow Sea. The name of the port used to be romanised as Tsingtao.

Qingdao has seven urban districts and five county level cities under its jurisdiction. The total population adds up to 7 million.

The GDP per capita was ¥26961 (ca. US$3260) in 2003, ranked no. 32 among 659 Chinese cities.

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Nanjing (南京, Pinyin: Nánjing, Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking) is the capital of Jiangsu Province of China.

Nanjing is one of the seven ancient capitals of China. Currently, it is the second most important city (after Shanghai) in eastern China. Its GDP per capita was ¥27128 (ca. US$3280) in 2003, ranked no. 31 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Kingdom Chu established Jinlíng in this area in 333 BC.

The city has experienced numerous destructions and reconstructions.

At least three subsequent cities were constructed: Jiànkang of 229 AD (it met total annihilation at 589 AD and became farmland thereafter), a later Jinling built in 914, and the early Ming capital Nánjing constructed in 1366.

Nanchang (南昌) is a city in central PRC and is the capital of Jiangxi Province. The GDP per capita was ¥18388 (ca. US$2220) in 2003, ranked no. 81 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
In early Han Dynasty (201 BC), a city called Guan was constructed.

In 589 AD (Sui Dynasty), it was renamed Hongzhou, and eventually Nanchang.

In early Tang Dynasty (653 AD), Li Yuanying, the brother of the Emperor Taizong, constructed a building called Teng-Wang Ge.

In 675 AD, the twenty-five-year-old Wang Bo wrote the classic “Teng-Wang Ge Xu”. The building as well as the city became celebrated for Wang’s introduction article.

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The Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, shortened to Macau or Macao, is a small city-island on the southern coast of China. It is 70 km southwest of Hong Kong and 145 km from Guangzhou. It was the oldest European colony in China, dating back to the 16th century. The Portuguese government transferred sovereignty over Macau to the People's Republic of China in 1999 and is now run as a special administrative region of the PRC. Macanese speak Cantonese natively.

Besides historical colonial relics, the biggest attractions in Macau are the casinos. Though many forms of gambling are legal there, the most popular game is Pai Gow, a game played with Chinese dominoes. Gamblers from Hong Kong often take a one-day excursion to the city. Ferry service by hydrofoil between Hong Kong and Macau is available 24 hours a day, every day.

Luoyang (洛陽, pinyin: luò yáng) is a city in Henan province, China. Its GDP per capita was ¥13845 (ca. US$1670) in 2003, ranked no. 152 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Located on the central plain of China, Luoyang is one of the seven ancient capitals of China.

The original city was constructed by Zhougong in the 11th century BC and, thus, named Chengzhou. It became the capital of Zhou Dynasty since 770 BC. The city was destroyed in a civil war in 510 BC and rebuilt the next year at the request of the king.

In 25 AD, Luoyang became the capital of Eastern Han Dynasty. Wei Dynasty and Jin Dynasty were also established in Luoyang. For several centuries, Luoyang was the gravity center of China. The end of Jin Dynasty, however, brought total destruction to the capital city.

Lhasa, or Lasa (pop. 200,000) is the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, and was the historical capital of whole Tibet before 1950. Lhasa means place of the Gods. It is pronounced L'hássa or Läässa.

There are today more Han Chinese than Tibetans in Lhasa, mostly a result of deliberate PRC government policies.

The historic ensemble of the Potala Palace, in Lhasa, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

A 670-mile-long Qinghai-Tibet railroad to Lhasa is currently under construction.

Lanzhou (Traditional Chinese: 蘭州, Simplified Chinese: 兰州, Hanyu Pinyin: Lánzhou, Wade-Giles: Lan-chou, sometimes seen transliterated as Lanchow) is the capital of the Gansu province in China.

History
Early settlement in this region could be dated to Han Dynasty, when it was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. To protect the city, the Great Wall was extended as far as Yumen.
After the fall of the Han Dynasty, Lanzhou became the capital of a succession of tribal states. Mixed with different cultural heritages, the area at present-day Gansu province, from the 5th to the 11th century, became a center for Buddhist study.

Kunming (ch. 昆明, Hanyu Pinyin: Kunmíng, Wade-Giles: K'un-ming) is the capital of Yunnan province, China. It is located at the northern edge of the massive Lake Dian and has a population of over four million.

Geography
Kunming is situated atop a 2 km plateau in Yunnan Province. It enjoys a protected location with mountains surrounding the city on three sides.

History
Early townships in the southern edge of Dianchi (outside the comtemporary city parameter) could be dated backed to 279 BC. These were long lost cities.

In 765 AD, Tuodong city was founded. It was renamed Kunming under the Mongol ruler (1276).

Kaohsiung (Chinese:高雄, pinyin: gao xióng) is the second largest city in Taiwan (population around 1.45m) with eleven districts, and the island's most significant port (the world's third largest container port after Hong Kong and Singapore). Like Taipei, Kaohsiung can refer to either the Kaohsiung City, which is administered directly by the central government of the Republic of China, or Kaohsiung County, which is administered as part of Taiwan Province.

Unlike Taipei, the streets of Kaohsiung are wide and traffic is less congested than in Taipei. However, the air pollution around Kaohsiung is notoriously bad because of the heavy industry in the area. Kaohsiung is the major port through which most of Taiwan's oil is imported which accounts for the large amount of heavy industry.

Kaifeng (开封/開封, pinyin: kai feng) is a city in the Henan province of the People's Republic of China, located along the Huang He, 70 km from Zhengzhou, the provincial capital. Population: 4.3 million. The GDP per capita was ¥7906 (ca. US$960) in 2003, ranked no. 352 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
Kaifeng is one of the ancient capital of China.

In 364 BC, the state of Wei during the Warring States Period founded a city called Daliang as its capital in this area. But it has been abandoned after the destruction of Wei.

In 781 AD (Tang Dynasty), a new city was reconstructed and named Bian, which was expanded in 956 AD (Song Dynasty).

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Jinan (Simplified: 济南, Traditional: 濟南, Pinyin: Jì'nán) is the capital and a sub-provincial city of Shandong province in China. The GDP per capita was ¥25192 (US$3042) in 2003, ranked no. 38 among 659 Chinese cities.

The Huang He flows though the city.

Geography & History
Jinan is located in north of China, and surrounded by mountains. The earliest towns in this area could be dated to Shang Dynasty, although the city founded in the early 4th century is more plausibly the beginning of contemporary Jinan.

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The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, shortened as Hong Kong (??, pinyin: Xianggang, Cantonese: heung1 gong2, meaning Fragrant Harbour), is a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, consisting of a small peninsula attached to China's southern coast and 236 islands in the South China Sea, of which Hong Kong Island is the second largest and Lantau the largest.

Under the policy of the 'One Country, Two Systems', Hong Kong enjoys a considerable degree of autonomy from the Mainland, continues to have its own currency, customs and immigration, legal system, and even its own rule of the road, with traffic continuing to drive on the left.

Hohhot (呼和浩特 Pinyin: Huhéhàotè), occasionally spelled Huhehot, is the capital city of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

Population: 683,200 (1994)
Area: __ km²
Abbreviation: Hu City (Hu-shi)
GDP per capita: ¥11789 (ca. US$1420) in 2003, ranked no. 201 among 659 Chinese cities.
The name "Hohhot" is Mongolian for "a green city".

History
Until 1954, Hohhot had been called in China as Guisui (Guisui), or Kweisui, which is the acronym of the two districts of the city:
Guihua: Southeastern old section, business district, established as a town in the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty

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Hefei (合肥 pinyin Héféi) is the capital of Anhui Province of China. Formerly translated Hofei using the Wade-Giles system. Population: 772,000. Area: 120 km². The GDP per capita was ¥ 17770 (ca. € 1800, US$ 2150) in 2003, ranked no. 91 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
The city was known as Luzhou (pinyin Lúzhou) during theMing and Qing Dynasties.

A famous Three Kingdoms battle was fought at what is currently Xiaoyao Jin (pinyin Xiaoyáo Jin) in Hefei. General Zhang Liao of the Kingdom of Wei (Wèi) commanding 7,000 picked cavalry defeated the 100,000-men army of Kingdom of Wu (Wú).

Harbin (Simplified: 哈尔滨, Traditional: 哈爾濱, pinyin: ha'erbin, Russian Kharbin) is a sub-provincial city in north-east China and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province. It lies on the southern bank of Songhua River.

City seat: Daoli District
Population: 9,410,000 (as of 2001)
Area: 53775 km², 1637 km² urban
Geographic coordinates: 125°42'-130°10' east, 44°04'-46°40' N
GDP per capita: ¥18244 (ca. US$2200) in 2003, ranked no. 84 among 659 Chinese cities.
Mayor: Shi Zhongxin: since 2002
Harbin bears the nickname "The Pearl on the swan's neck" because the shape of Heilongjiang resembles a swan.

Hangzhou (杭州; pinyin: Hángzhou) is a sub-provincial city in China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. Located 180 km southwest of Shanghai, the population in the city proper is now 1.75 million.

In China, the city is well known for its beautiful scenery, with the West Lake (Xi Hu) as the most noteworthy location.

Hangzhou is located at the southern end of the Grand Canal of China.

Administration
13 cities, counties and districts at county level are under the direct jurisdiction of Hangzhou:

Cities: Xiaoshan, Yuhang, Fuyang, Jiande, Lin'an
Counties: Tonglu, Chun'an

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Haikou is the capital of China's Hainan Province.

The GDP per capita was ¥23920 (ca. US$2890) in 2003, ranked no. 43 among 659 Chinese cities.

Typically known as the "Forest City", Guiyang is the capital of Guizhou province in The People's Republic of China.

Location
Guiyang is located in central Guizhou province, situated at the east of Yungui Plateau of China, and on the north bank of the Nanming River - a branch of Wujiang River.

Climate
Guiyang is typically characterized as having a subtropical monsoon climate; four seasons not so clearly seen; without cold winter and hot summer; temperate and humid.

History
The city was constructed in 1283 AD during Yuan Dynasty. It was originally called Shunyuan, meaning obeying the Yuan (the Mongol rulers).

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Guilin (桂林 pinyin: Guìlín; Postal Pinyin: Gweilin) is one of China's most picturesque cities, situated northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China on the west bank of the Li River.

History
190,000,000 years ago, the area around present-day Guilin was water, part of an ancient sea. Due to the movement of the Earth's crust, the sea floor eventually rose and became dry land.

In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River.

In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city.

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Guangzhou (Traditional Chinese: 廣州, Simplified Chinese: 广州, pinyin: Guangzhou, Wade-Giles: Kuang-chou) is the capital of the Guangdong Province in southern China. It was formerly known as Canton or Kwangtung (named after the province).

The Chinese abbreviation of Guangzhou is Yue (TC: 廣州; SC: 广州; pinyin: yuè), like Guangdong Province. Population (1999): city: 6.85 million; urban population: 4.05 million.

Administration
Guangzhou has direct jurisdiction over twelve districts: Yuexiu, Dongshan, Liwan, Haizhu, Tianhe, Baiyun, Huangpu, Fangcun, Huadu, Conghua, Zengcheng, Panyu.

Fuzhou (福州, Hanyu Pinyin: Fúzhou, Wade-Giles: Fu-chou, also seen as Foochow or Fuchow) is a city on the coast of China, the largest city in and capital of Fujian province.

Its GDP was ¥31582 (ca. US$3800) per capita in 2003, ranked no. 21 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
The exact foundation date of this city is not known.

When Yue to the north of Fujian was annexed by Chu in 306 BC, a branch of the royal family of the defeated Yue fled Fujian and became the Minyue tribe.

The first city wall of Fuzhou was built in 202 BC when Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, gave permission to Wuzhu, the king of Minyue, to set up his capital in Fuzhou. And the city was named Ye, meaning "The Beautiful". The name has changed many times, but the city has been continuously occuppied since 202 BC and has never suffered major destruction by wars or natural disasters.

Dunhuang (敦煌) is a city located in an oasis in the Gansu province, China. Its population is 100,000.

It is located near the historic junction of the northern and southern Silk Roads, and was therefore a town of military importance.

For centuries Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the west, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the Mogao Caves. Today, the site is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project.

Rocked by waves of invasion, Dunhuang has previously been independent, as well as being ruled by both Tibet and China.

Datong (大同, Pinyin: Dàtóng) is a city in the northern Shanxi Province in China.

History
The town was founded in 200 BC during Han Dynasty and was called Pingcheng (平城, Pinyin: Píngchéng). It was sacked at the end of Eastern Han Dynasty.

Pingcheng became the capital of Northern Wei from 398 AD until 494 AD. The famous Yungang Grottoes was constructed in the later part of this period (460 - 494 AD).

The city was renamed Datong in 1048 AD.

The city was sacked again at the end of Ming Dynasty (1649 AD) but promptly rebuilt in 1652 AD.

Economy
The GDP per capita was ¥10550 (ca.

Dalian (Traditional Chinese: 大連, Simplified Chinese: 大连, Hanyu Pinyin: Dàlián, Wade-Giles: Ta-lien), formerly Lüda or Luta, is an ice-free seaport city in eastern Liaoning Province of the Northeastern People's Republic of China (Manchuria). It is west of the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and east of Bohai Sea. With a coastline of 1,906 km, it governs the southernmost Liaodong Peninsula and about 260 surrounding islands and reefs.

Area: 13,237 km² (land 12,573.85)
Population: 5,550,000 (2001)
Geographic coordinate: 120°58'-123°31' East, 38°43'-40°10' North
Capital: Xigang
One of the most heavily developed industrial areas of China, Dalian today consists of Dalian proper and the smaller Lushun (Port Arthur), formerly a city in its own right as well.

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Chongqing (重慶/重庆; pinyin: Chóngqìng; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four municipalities, which have provincial-level status. It is the only municipality in west of the densely populated eastern half of China. The placename literally means "Double Celebration".

The municipal abbreviation, Yu, was approved by the State Council on April 18, 1997. Yu had previously been used by the Kuomintang. It is the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing with the Yangtze.

Chengdu (成都, Hanyu Pinyin: Chéngdu, Wade-Giles: Ch'eng-tu) is the capital of Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city, located in southwest China, and bordering Tibet. Its exact location is between 102º54' - 104º53' east longitude and 30º5' - 31º26' north latitude.

Chengdu has a population of 9.9 million and an area of 12,300 square kilometers. The GDP per capita was ¥20111 (ca. US$2430) in 2003, ranked no. 58 among 659 Chinese cities.

History
More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical Bronze Age culture of Sànxingdui (4800-3100 BP) established itself in this region. Zizhu city (Zizhú Chéng) was one of the early settlement. Some believe that this culture is related to the BA culture of West Asia.

Changsha (Traditional Chinese:長沙 ; Simplified Chinese: 长沙; pinyin: cháng sha) is the capital of Hunan, a province of Southcentral China, located on the lower reaches of Xiangjiang river, a branch of Yangtze. It covers an area of 11,819 sq. kilometers and has a population of 5.955 million (2000 population census).

Administration
Changsha has jurisdiction over 5 districts ( Furong, Tianxin, Yuelu, Kaifu, Yuhua districts ), 3 counties (Changsha, Wangcheng, Ningxiang counties) and Liuyang city.

History
The earliest settlement was probably founded in the first millennium BC. By 202 BC it was already a fortified city. During Han Dynasty it was also the capital of kingdom Changsha.

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Beijing (Hanyu Pinyin: Beijing, Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking), is the capital city of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the 4 municipalities of the People's Republic of China, which have a provincial-level status. The municipality governs 10 districts and 8 counties.

Names
Beijing literally means "northern capital" (as opposed to Nanjing, meaning "southern capital" and Tonkin and Tokyo, both of which mean "eastern capital"). Beijing is sometimes referred to as Peking. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago, and corresponds to an archaic pronunciation which does not take into account a 'k' to 'j' sound shift in Mandarin that occurred during the Qing dynasty.