Beijing (北京): Name Meaning, History, Hutongs, Food and Dialect

If you learn Chinese, you probably learned to say 北京 (Běijīng) in your very first week. It is the capital of China, a city of almost 22 million people and one of the oldest capitals in the world. But the name itself tells a story, and so do the old names the city used before it.

In this guide, you will learn what Beijing means, why English speakers once called it Peking, how it became China's capital, and what makes the city special today—its hutongs, its food and its famous "r" accent. Along the way, you will pick up words and phrases you can use on a trip.

Key takeaways

• 北京 means "northern capital": 北 = north, 京 = capital.
• "Peking" is an older spelling of the same name; "Beijing" is the pinyin spelling used since 1979.
• Beijing has had many names, including 燕京, 大都 and 北平.
• It was the capital of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and has been the capital of the People's Republic of China since 1949.
• The 7.8 km Beijing Central Axis became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024.
• Beijingers love 儿化, the "r" sound at the end of words like 哪儿 and 一点儿.

What does Beijing mean?

The name has just two characters:

So 北京 simply means "northern capital." Once you know the character 京, you will see the same pattern in other city names:

Nanjing was the first capital of the Ming dynasty, so the "northern" and "southern" capitals were a real pair. Tokyo's name is written with the same characters in Japanese, meaning "eastern capital."

The character 京 still points to Beijing in many words. 京剧 (jīngjù) is Peking opera, 京腔 (jīngqiāng) is the Beijing accent, and the short name for Beijing on car license plates is simply 京.

The word for "capital city" in modern Chinese is 首都 (shǒudū). You would say:

Peking or Beijing?

Peking and Beijing are the same name, 北京, written in two different ways. "Peking" comes from older systems of spelling Chinese in Roman letters, used by missionaries and later by China's imperial post office. It also reflects an older pronunciation of 京.

In 1958, China adopted pinyin (拼音), the spelling system you use when you learn Chinese. From January 1, 1979, China used pinyin for names in its English-language publications, so Peking became Beijing. Western newspapers and broadcasters switched over the following years.

The old spelling still lives on in a few famous names: Peking duck, Peking opera, Peking University (北京大学) and Peking Man, the early human fossils found near the city.

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Beijing's old names

Beijing has more than 3,000 years of history, and it has changed names many times. Here are the ones you are most likely to meet:

Notice the pattern: when the city was not the national capital, the character 京 disappeared and it became 北平, "northern peace." When it became the capital again, 京 came back.

The old name 燕京 is still everywhere. Beijing's best-known local beer is called 燕京啤酒 (Yānjīng píjiǔ), Yanjing Beer.

How Beijing became China's capital

Yuan dynasty: the "Great Capital"

In the 1260s, the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (忽必烈, Hūbìliè) began building a grand new capital here, which the Chinese called 大都. This was the first time the city became the capital of all of China. The Italian traveler Marco Polo described it as "Cambaluc."

Ming dynasty: the Forbidden City and the move north

The Ming dynasty first made its capital in Nanjing and renamed this city 北平. Then the Yongle Emperor, who had lived here as a prince, renamed it 北京 in 1403 and moved the capital north. He built the Forbidden City between 1406 and 1420, and Beijing officially became the capital in 1421.

Qing dynasty

In 1644, the Manchu Qing dynasty took Beijing and kept it as the capital. The emperors lived in the same palace, and Beijing grew into one of the largest cities in the world. You can learn more about the emperors who ruled from here in our article on Chinese emperors.

The 20th century to today

After the last emperor gave up the throne in 1912, Beijing stayed the capital for a while. But in 1928 the national government was based in Nanjing, and Beijing became 北平 again. On October 1, 1949, the founding of the People's Republic of China was announced at 天安门 (Tiān'ānmén, Tiananmen), with Beijing as its capital.

Today Beijing is the political and cultural center of China, home to about 21.8 million permanent residents. It is also the first city in the world to host both the Summer Olympics (2008) and the Winter Olympics (2022).

The Beijing Central Axis: the city's backbone

Old Beijing was built around a straight north–south line called the 中轴线 (zhōngzhóuxiàn), the Central Axis. It runs for 7.8 kilometers, from the Bell and Drum Towers (钟鼓楼) in the north to 永定门 (Yǒngdìng Mén, Yongdingmen Gate) in the south. Along the way, it passes Jingshan Park, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen and Tiananmen Square, and Zhengyang Gate, with the Temple of Heaven to the east and the Altar of the God of Agriculture to the west.

The idea comes from ancient Chinese city planning: the ruler sits in the middle, and everything else is arranged in balance on both sides. On July 27, 2024, UNESCO added the Beijing Central Axis to the World Heritage List.

The Forbidden City sits in the middle of the axis. We won't repeat its story here—read our guide to the Forbidden City for its name, history and visiting tips.

Hutongs and courtyard houses

Step off a big Beijing avenue and you may find yourself in a 胡同 (hútòng), a narrow lane lined with gray walls and red doors. Hutongs are the old alleys of Beijing, and many date back to the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. A popular theory says the word comes from a Mongolian word for "well," but scholars still debate it.

Along the hutongs stand 四合院 (sìhéyuàn), traditional courtyard houses. The name says it all:

A 四合院 has four buildings closing around a central courtyard. The main house usually faces south to catch the winter sun. In the past, one big family lived in each 四合院; later, many families shared one. Today some hutong areas, like 南锣鼓巷 (Nánluógǔ Xiàng), are busy with cafés and shops, while others are quiet neighborhoods where old men play chess and walk their birds.

What to eat in Beijing

Roast duck (烤鸭) is the city's most famous dish. Its history is often traced to the Ming dynasty, and one of the best-known restaurants, 全聚德 (Quánjùdé), opened in 1864. 豆汁, on the other hand, is a test of courage. Many old Beijingers love it with fried dough rings, but most visitors find its sour smell hard to accept on the first try.

The Beijing accent and 儿化

Standard Mandarin, 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà), takes Beijing pronunciation as its standard. But real Beijing speech has its own flavor, and the most famous feature is 儿化 (érhuà): adding an "r" sound to the end of a syllable.

In southern China, people usually say 哪里 (nǎlǐ) and 这里 (zhèlǐ) instead. Both are correct—儿化 is just a mark of northern, and especially Beijing, speech.

Beijingers also have their own slang. 倍儿 (bèir) means "very," as in 倍儿棒 ("really great"). 劳驾 (láojià) is a polite "excuse me," and older Beijingers use the respectful 您 (nín, "you") much more than people in other parts of China.

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Useful phrases for a trip to Beijing

Top sights in Beijing

There is an old saying about the Great Wall, from a 1935 poem by Mao Zedong: 不到长城非好汉 (bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎohàn)—"If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you're not a true hero." You will see these words on T-shirts and souvenirs all along the Wall.

Useful vocabulary

From the "northern capital" of the Ming to the city of today, Beijing has worn many names—now you can say all of them, with or without the "r."