Beijing City

King Wu was the first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 BC. Subsequently, the city has gone by the names of Ji, Zhongdu, Dadu, and finally Beijing when the Ming Dynasty Emperor ChengZu chose the name in 1421. Beijing was also known as Peking by the Western world before 1949.

Beijing City is an independently administered municipal district. She is situated in the northeastern part of China at an elevation of 43.5m above sea level. The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters and hot summers. January is the coldest month (-4 Celsius), while July the warmest (26 Celsius).

Beijing has a whole area of 16808 sq km (about 6500 sq mi), stretching 160 kilometres from east to west and over 180 kilometres north to south. She has 18 districts and counties with Dongcheng, Xicheng, Xuanwu, Chongwen, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai and Shijingshan in the surburbs and Fangshan, Mengtougou, Changping, Tongxian, Shunyi, Daxing, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu and Yianqing in the outer suburbs. Population in Beijing is about 12 million.

Night life was unknown to many people in Beijing 20 years ago, and the word wasn't even used. But nowadays it is very common, especially for young people, to go out in the evenings and spend their time at cinemas, theatres, nightclubs, song and dance halls, Karaoke clubs, restaurants or bars. Compared to people in south China, Beijing people are more conservative. Most of them, married people in particular, like to stay at home watching TV or chatting with friends, which is why the streets are quite deserted after nine o'clock at night, when most of the shops are closed.
Don't despair, you can find places to spend your evenings if you are not tired after the day's sightseeing. Almost every four- or five-star hotel has facilities for entertainment. Apart from hotels, night life venues are mostly in the city centre. You can see the Peking Opera, acrobatics, dramas, local ballad singing, song and dance performances, or attend a music concert, or drop in at a roadside disco. But be careful, there do exit nightclubs where tourists are charged an unbelievable price for a drink and where trouble can breakout. It's best to stick to places which have been recommended by other tourists or Chinese friends, and beware if prices of drinks are not displayed.
Now the city has witnessed a mushrooming of foreign theme pubs, new exotic bars and locally-run techno-clubs. Foreign pubs, bars, cafes and disco clubs attract foreign residents and tourists as well as young Chinese. The admission fee is usually about 50-80 yuan and beer is 15-20 yuan.

Peking Opera

Originally a form of local theatre, it spread all over the country and has become the national opera of China. About 200 years ago, the Qing Emperor Qianlong toured in southern China and developed an interest in the local operas. On his 80th birthday, he had local opera troupes to come to Beijing to perform for him. Some remained in Beijing after the celebration. The ones from Anhui and Hubei were incorporated the palace opera -Kunqu Opera- and became the Peking Opera.

Peking Opera combines stylized acting with singing, dancing, musical dialogue, martial arts, colorful facial make up and fantastic costumes. Female roles are called dan, male roles are sheng, clowns are chou. Each role, according to their sex, age and disposition, is characterized by different designs of facial make-up, such as jing representing a rough, frank character and hua lian representing a cruel or sinister character. So the audience can easily tell what kind of characters the actors are portraying. Facial make-up, costumes and head - dresses are wonderful works of traditional art.

In the past, both dan and sheng roles were played by male actors, but now they are played separately by females and males.
It is a must to see a Peking Opera while you are in Beijing, equivalent to seeing an
opera if you go to Italy.

There are also some other types of operas staged in Beijing, such as Kunqu Opera, Pingju Opera and Hebei Bangzi as well as other operas from different places.

Puppet shows

Puppet shows in China have an amazing history stretching back two thousand years. Puppetry combines the different art forms of drama, singing, dancing, music, painting and sculpture. Like Peking Opera, the shows are based on folk tales and the like, and are very charming to watch, even if you don't speak Chinese. There are shadow puppet shows as well as marionette type puppets. The main keepers of the ancient art of puppetry are the members of the China Puppet Show Artistic Troupe.

Acrobatics

Chinese acrobatic troupes have traveled to many countries around the world and have amazed audiences everywhere. The usual tourist reaction to a Chinese acrobatics show is something like "whoa! that was so...." You are not sure what to say. The contortions and balancing acts are quite incredible and sometimes seem almost superhuman, or super rubber human. You will be at the edge of your seat through most of the show saying "don't fall, don't drop it!" And incredibly, they never do.

Symphony


Founded in1951, the Central Symphony Orchestra is one of the few orchestras which can offer a full repertoire from George F. Handel to Peter Tchaikovsky. The orchestra performs symphony concerts in Beijing Concert Hall every week. In addition, the Beijing Symphony Orchestra is a rising star in the field of western music. There are now several special orchestras and chamber groups (i.e. the Youth Symphony and the China All-Women Orchestra), which offer a rich variety of classical western music. The Beijing Concert Hall holds many world-level concerts all year round. For listings, dial 6605-7006.

Ballet and Opera

Foreign visitors may be surprised to find that they can find the Sleeping Beauty, Madame Butterfly or Carmen in Beijing. The Central Ballet and Opera Theater is renowned for the quality and talent of its ballet dancers, its symphony orchestra and Western opera shows. The China Opera Theater is another well-known art troupe who puts on Chinese operas with a mixed singing method of Italian bel canto and traditional Chinese singing.

Song and Dance

There are a couple of national-class troupes that perform music and dance from various parts of China. In recent years, overseas visitors have been impressed by the Royal Song and Dance performed by the Beijing Song and Dance Troupe.

Drama

Unlike other art forms, modern drama has only a 70-year history in China. The most famous theater in Beijing is the People's Art Theater. This theater puts on plays based on ancient Chinese stories as well as Chinese adaptations of Western drama. The Experimental Theater in Mao'er Hutong is also an excellent place to watch plays. There are now some very good plays written by Chinese playwrights.

Nightclubs

Big hotels usually provide night spots for your entertainment. They mainly open at 8-9 p.m. and close at midnight-3 a.m. All charge admission.

Teahouse 

Teahouse used to be public places where people came to relax, enjoy tea, talk about their business, kill their time, exchange information, or listen to ballads or story-telling. They equate, to some extent, to pubs on the West. Teahouse disappeared for about two decades when they were regarded as places for idle people who did not want to work. Now a few traditional teahouses are open, mainly for tourists to enjoy the experience of traditional Chinese teahouse. They are open every night, but you have to book a table beforehand since they are very crowded. The teahouse is set with hardwood tables and a stage at one end. Customers are served various snacks and tea from copper pots with long spouts while traditional performances are staged. It is a really good experience if you can find time to fit it into your busy schedule.