Beijing sometimes romanized as Peking is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most heavily populated cities in the world. Beijing has long been well known for the number of bicycles on its streets. The airport links Beijing with nearly every other Chinese city with regular air passenger service.Beijing is the second major Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the nation's political, cultural, and educational center. Encircling the city are five ring roads, nine expressways and city express routes, eleven China National Highways, several railway routes, and an international airport. A mixture of both old and new styles of architecture can be seen at the 798 Art Zone, which mixes 1950s design with the new. There are several notable sites, such as the Tiananmen, Qianmen, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, the Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Beijing's real estate and automobile sectors have continued to boom in recent years. Beijing's 16 districts and counties are further subdivided into 273 lower third-level administrative units. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China, which was built across the North China Plain to Hangzhou. Beijing has been the political center of the country for much of the past seven centuries.
