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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.


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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.


Discover More

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His statement on Monday included an implicit criticism of Tokyo, which Beijing has sought to pressure and isolate in response to what China sees as a return to Japanese “militarism.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Xi makes the trip to the North after hosting US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin separately in Beijing recently and as North Korea's nuclear talks with Washington remain deadlocked.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

Xi and Kim last met at a military parade in Beijing last fall, but this visit is Xi’s first to North Korea since 2019.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Minseon Ku, a diplomacy professor at DePaul University, told AFP that "Beijing probably has accepted North Korea as a nuclear state", but Xi "will probably tell Kim that China wants stability more than anything".

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

“Open it,” says Zarra, scooting beside Zion, reading, “Erinn Smart. African American woman foil fencer. Won team silver in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.”

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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