Beijing, capital of China, is located northwest of the Gulf of Bo Hai (Po Hai) in northeastern China. Beijing, China Gay Cruises. Formerly known as Peking, the city is surrounded by Hebei (Ho-pei) Province but constitutes an independently administered municipal district with an area of about 18,000 sq km (about 6950 sq mi). Beijing, China Gay Cruises. Situated at the northern edge of the North China Plain and circled on three sides by mountains, Beijing was a strategic northern outpost of the Chinese Empire throughout much of its history. Beijing, China Gay Cruises. With interruptions, it has been a capital of China for approximately 1000 years. Beijing, China Gay Cruises. Today it is the cultural, political, and intellectual center of China, as well as a major industrial and commercial metropolis. Beijing, China Gay Cruises. Beijing is the second largest city in China, after Shanghai. Beijing, China Gay Cruises.
