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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.

So Beijing is unlikely to welcome a scenario where Russia becomes the dominant influence in Pyongyang.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

Hundreds of young Chinese students clutching pens and their IDs shuffled into a testing centre in blue-skied Beijing on Sunday, swarmed by parents, joining millions sitting for the national high-stakes university entrance exam.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

Late last year, Xi invited Kim to a military parade in Beijing, keeping him prominently by his side alongside Putin.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

"As China's international standing rises, Beijing is likely seeking to draw Pyongyang more actively into its diplomatic orbit," said Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 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

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