Beijing, a city in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and is one of the four municipalities of the PRC, which are equivalent to provinces in China's administrative structure. Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China. Beijing is increasingly proving itself to be an entrepreneurial hub, and a center for growing ventures with a culture of innovation in China.
In 2008, Beijing's nominal GDP was 1.0488 trillion RMB (150 billion USD), a year-on-year growth of 9% from the previous year. Beijing's real estate continues to bloom in recent years. In 2007, a total of 21.766 million square metres of housing real estate was sold, a year-on-year decrease of 16.5%, hereinto 17.315 million square metres for the residential, a year-on-year decrease of 21.5%. By the end of the year, vacancy area reaches 11.362 million square metres, a year-on-year growth of 0.965 million square metres, hereinto 4.118 million square metres for the residential, decrease of 0.823 million square metres.
The Beijing CBD, centered at the Guomao area, has been identified as the city's new central business district, and is home to a variety of corporate regional headquarters, shopping malls, and high-end housing. The Beijing Financial Street, in the Fuxingmen and Fuchengmen area, is a traditional financial center. The Wangfujing and Xidan areas are major shopping districts. Zhongguancun, dubbed "China's Silicon Valley", continues to be a major center in electronics- and computer-related industries, as well as pharmaceuticals-related research. Meanwhile, Yizhuang, located to the southeast of the urban area, is becoming a new center in pharmaceuticals, IT, and materials engineering.
In August 2008, the 29th Olympic game was successfully held in Beijing. The slogan of “One World One Dream" is a profound manifestation of the core concepts of the Beijing Olympic Games. It reflects the values of harmony connoted in the concept of "People's Olympics", the core and soul of the three concepts - "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics".