Landform and climate of Beijing

Source:Global Times Published: 2011-2-23 14:02:00

Beijing is located at the northern tip of the North China Plain, near the meeting point of the Xishan and Yanshan mountain ranges. The city itself lies on flat land (elevation 20 to 60 meters (66 to 200 feet)) that opens to the east and south. The much larger Beijing Municipality encompasses mountains that surround the city from the southwest to the northeast and reach elevations of over 2,000 meters (6,600 feet).

Beijing Municipality consists of eight city districts, eight suburban districts and two rural counties. It covers a total area of 16,807.8 square kilometers. The terrain is roughly 38% flat and 62% mountainous. The city is 150 kilometers inland from the Bohai Sea via Tianjin Municipality in the southeast. Aside from Tianjin, Beijing is bordered on all other sides by Hebei Province, including a piece wedged between Beijing and Tianjin.

To the west, is Xishan, also known as the Western Hills, is visible from the city on clear days. Xishan forms the eastern flank of the Taihang Mountains range, which run north-south up the spine of Hebei Province. Xishan covers nearly all of Fangshan and Mentougou Districts west of the city. East Lingshan (elevation 2,303 meters), a Xishan peak on the border with Hebei, is the highest point in Beijing Municipality. It is located 122 km from the city. Xishan is also known for high mountain meadows and scenic river gorges, including Shidu. Foothills of Xishan reach the city itself. They include Fragrant Hills, a major tourist attraction and Laoshan, the site of mountain bike competition in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The mountains north of Beijing including Badaling, Jundushan and Fenghuanling all belong to the Yanshan range, which runs east-west, across northern Hebei Province. Yanshan separates the North China Plain from the steppes and held considerable military significance in history. All of Beijing's Great Wall sections were built in the Yanshan range, which reaches a height of 2,241 meters (7,352 feet.) at Haituoshan on the border between Yanqing and Hebei.

The Yanshan and Xishan ranges meet at Nankou, in Changping District, northwest of the city. The intersection creates a massive fault line and rift valley through which the city's main roads and railroads to the northwest pass.

Beijing's climate is a monsoon influenced continental climate with hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. The best time to visit is in September and October, the "Golden Autumn" (é‡'秋). Spring is the season for dust storms. Summer can be oppressively hot and the tourist crowds tend to be the largest as well. Winter is cold and dry with infrequent, but beautiful, snow.

Historically, Beijing was situated on the border between sedentary agricultural areas to the south and pastoralist regions beyond the mountains to the north. The Great Wall of China was built across the mountains north of Beijing to guard against nomadic invasions. In modern times, the same mountains that shielded Beijing from the Gobi steppes also form a semi-circular basin which catches the city's air pollution.

Severe smog problems develop in the summer as the hot and humid air pressure from monsoons in the south prevent air pollutants from leaving the basin. Smog is less severe in the fall and winter when the direction of the wind currents reverse course as the vast anticyclone high pressure system takes hold and brings cold, dry air from Siberia. In the spring, the northerly winds, pick up dust from desertifying areas of western China and bring occasionally severe dust storms to Beijing. Generally speaking, the city's climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and cold, windy, and dry winters.

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