The People's Republic of China is situated in the eastern part of the Asian Continent on the western coast of the Pacific. With a total land area of around 9.6 million square km, China is the largest country in Asia and the third largest in the world, next to Russia and Canada. The Chinese territory is around 5,500 km from the middle of the Heilongjiang River north of Mohe, Heilongjiang Province, in the north to Zengmu Ansha of the Nansha Islands in the south, and stretches for some 5,000 km from the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusulijiang rivers in the east to the Pamirs Plateau in the west. The land boundary extends for 22,800 km.

GEOGRAPHY AND NATURAL CONDITIONS
Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the political and cultural center, and one of the international communication hubs of the country. Located at 39°56' N and 116°20' E, on the northwest edge of the North China Plain, Beijing adjoins Tianjin to its east and Hebei to its north, west and south.
Lying in the northern part of North China Plain, Beijing is surrounded by mountains on the west, the north and the northeast. The northeastern part of the city is high while the southwestern part is low topographically, with a southeastern plain tilted gradually downward to the Bohai Sea. Major rivers flowing through Beijing include Yongding River, Chaobai River, North Canal and Juma River that mostly originated in the northeastern mountainous areas of Beijing. These rivers flow through rugged mountains towards southeastern plain of Beijing and in the end join the Bohai Sea. The Bohai Sea lies about 150 km to its southeast.
Beijing occupies a total area of 16,807.8 square kilometers. Around 10,417.5 square kilometers are mountainous areas, which constitute 62 percent of the total space of Beijing.  The plain area of Beijing covers 6,390.3 square kilometers, which accounts for 38 percent of the city's total area. By 2004, the population exceeded 14.9 million, and the total municipal area was increased to over 16,800 square kilometers.

MAP OF BEIJING
The city is presently divided into 16 districts: Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen, Xuanwu, Chaoyang, Haidian, Shijingshan, Fengtai, Shunyi, Changping, Mentougou, Tongzhou, Fangshan, Daxing, Huairou and Pinggu. In addition to these urban districts, the municipality is comprised of two counties: Miyun and Yanqing. Plans for future development retain the symmetrical layout of the old city on its north-south axis, extending out into the suburban districts.