-est in the world

The biggest palace in the world: the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, occupying 9 square km.

The biggest city square in the world: Tiananmen Square, which occupies 440 thousand square meters and can hold as many as half a million people.

The steel construction with the biggest span in the world: the National Stadium (Nestle).

The only public building in the world covered totally with ETFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene): the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube)

The number of people participating in the torch relay of the Beijing Olympics is the largest in history. The total number will reach 21,880, including 19,400 domestic and 2,480 from abroad.

Yunju Temple has most stone-scripted Buddhist sutra in the world.

-est of China

Beijing is the only city that has people from all 56 Chinese nationalities working and living in it.

Beijing Capital Airport is the biggest air transportation hub and Beijing Railway Station is the biggest railway transportation hub in China.

There are almost 100 colleges and universities including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, the Central Institute of Fine Arts and Beijing Film Academy located in Beijing, making it the city with most colleges and universities.

The Temple of Heaven is the biggest ancient sacrificial complex and the Ming Tombs are the best preserved cemetery complex in China.

The Imperial Archives of the Qing Dynasty, located north of the Tiananmen Square, is the biggest ancient national archives.

The Ruins of Beijing Guyaju, renowned as the “No.1 labyrinth of China,” is the largest ruins of ancient residence on the cliff in China. It is located in a tranquil valley northwest of Yanqing, a county in Beijing’s suburbs, and is formed by 117 stone rooms dug into the cliffs by ancient people.

The theater in the Garden of Virtue and Harmony in the Summer Palace is the biggest ancient theater in China.

The Miaoying Temple, built in 1096 during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), is the most ancient and largest Lama Temple in China.

The 26-meter-tall Laughing Buddha statue in the Lama Temple of Dongcheng District is the biggest sandalwood statue of Buddha in China.

The Tao Bell, which is as small as a cigarette packet and exhibits ancient society in the Big Bell Temple, is the oldest bell in China.

The Yongle Bell in the Big Bell Temple, which is 6.75 meters tall and weighs 36,500 tons, is the biggest bronze bell in China

The 875 kg Simuwu Rectangle Ding, displayed in the Museum of Chinese History, is the biggest bronze ware in China.

The stone sculpture behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony in the Palace Museum is the biggest stone sculpture in China. It is 16.75 meters tall and weighs more than 200 tons.

-est of Beijing

The most well known dish in Beijing is roast duck

The longest hutong in Beijing is 3,000-meter-long Dongjiaominxiang in Dongcheng District.

The shortest hutong in Beijing is one-chi-street hutong, just over 10 meters long.

The widest hutong in Beijing is Lingjing hutong, 32.18 meters at the widest.

The narrowest hutong in Beijing is Qianshi hutong, just 40-80 cm in width.

The biggest ancient stone lions in Beijing are in Tiananmen Square. The pair are 3.41 meters high and weigh 15 tons.