Handmade Worldtour – Beijing
Among the most important events of the German Craft Council are national and international exhibitions. Since 2014, the “Handmade in Germany World Tour” has been presenting German manufactories and artisans at international venues.
The 9th stop of the exhibition “Handmade in Germany” leads to Beijing. The capital of the People’s Republic of China has more than three thousand years of history. It’s name means Northern Capital. Today, Beijing is a directly governed city, which means that it is directly subordinated to the central government and thus equal to provinces, autonomous areas and special administrative zones.
The entire 16,807 square kilometre administrative area of Beijing has 20.69 million inhabitants. It is not a contiguous urban area, with its dominant rural settlement structure it is more comparable to a province. Of the total population, 11.8 million are registered permanent residents and 7.7 million are temporary residents. From 2017, the metropolis is to become the core of a megalopolis of 130 million inhabitants called Jing-Jin-Ji.
Beijing is the capital and political centre of China. Due to its long history, Beijing is home to an important cultural heritage. This includes Tian’anmen Square (Chinese Square at the Gate of Heavenly Peace), the Forbidden City, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, the new and old Summer Palace and various temples, such as the Temple of Heaven, the Temple of Lama and the Temple of Confucius. Beijing was the venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics and was also chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
