I. Overview of Beijing
1. Geographical Location
Located at 39°56' north and 116°20' east, Beijing lies on the north end of the North China Plain in East China. It is almost surrounded by Hebei province, except for two short stretches bordering Tianjin municipality to the southeast.
2. Climate
Beijing is in the warm temperate semi humid climate zone and has a typical continental monsoon climate characterized by dry and windy springs, hot and rainy summers, brisk autumns and cold winters. Springs and autumns in Beijing are short, and summers and winters generally longer. The average annual temperature is between 11℃ and 14℃. The average temperature in the coldest month (January) is between -7℃ and -4℃, and the average temperature in the hottest month (July) is between 25℃ and 26℃. The extreme lowest temperature was -27.4℃ and the extreme highest temperature was 42.6℃. Three quarters of the annual precipitation in Beijing occurs in summer, especially in July and August.
3. Seasons
Beijing has four distinct seasons. Every season is beautiful in its own way. In spring, flowers are in blossom and grass starts to turn green. In summer, Beijing is in vibrant colors. In autumn, the gingko trees turn yellow and maple leaves turn red. In winter, the snow covers the whole city, forming magnificent scenery.
4. City Layout
Beijing is one of the greatest cities in the world in terms of city layout. At the junction of the north-south central axis and the west-east Chang'an Avenue, there lies the best-known city center of Beijing, the Palace Museum (aka. the Forbidden City). Along the central axis which extends northward to the Olympic Forest Park, Beijing spreads out with bilateral symmetry and the roads are laid out like a checkerboard. Be it the solemn zuozu youshe (ancestor temple to the left and the shrine for the gods of land and grain to the right) and jiutan bamiao (nine altars and eight temples), or the interlacing alleyways with courtyards dotted within, everything is arranged so neatly.
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