Beijing (北京 pinyin bei3 jing1) is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China. It was known as Peking before China standardized on Pinyin for transliteration. In China, the city is also known as bei ping (北平) or abbreviated as jing (京). Beijing literally means "northern (bei) capital (jing)".
Beijing will be the site of the 2008 olympics.
Between 1911 and 1949, it was known as Beiping (北平) or Northern peace.
Compare to Nanjing.