People native to urban Beijing speak the Beijing dialect, which belongs to the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. Beijing dialect is the basis for Standard Mandarin, the language used in mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Rural areas of Beijing Municipality have their own dialects akin to those of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing Municipality.
Beijing opera or Peking opera (simplified Chinese: 京剧; traditional Chinese: 京劇; pinyin: Jīngjù) is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. (Read More..)
The city of Beijing has a long and rich history that dates back over 3,000 years. From this time onward, with the exception of two interludes from 1368 to 1421 and 1928 to 1949, Beijng would remain as China's capital, serving as the seat of power for the Ming (1421-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, the early Republic of China (1912-1928) and now the People's Republic of China (1949 - present). (Read More..)
Modern life in Beijing today is constantly changing and improving. Some of the traditional customs have gradually vanished; however, as a kind of life memories, the original taste and flavor which implies the authentic ideas of Beijing people still take root in people's mind. Some classical and traditional local customs retained by Beijing people are still surviving from the past. (Read More..)
