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 hopes that nudging Tehran into a cease-fire buys goodwill for May summit between the president and Xi Jinping.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Cheng's trip comes a month before US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing for a summit with Xi.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Islamabad has cultivated strong ties with Washington, Riyadh and Beijing.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

For Beijing, the visit recenters “cross-strait dynamics around leaders in Beijing and Taipei and away from other international actors,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Sitting on the hard bench in the cafeteria, I pictured her thirty-hour trip to Beijing, the train crowded with enthusiastic Red Guards.

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