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Gigantic Encyclopedia on Beijing Published
Do you know how many hutongs (lanes) there are in China's national capital, a seat of the imperial palace for many dynasties in feudalistic China?
Do you know where they got their names?
Do you want to know China's most complicated dishes, the full Manchu-Han Feast, which originated from the Qing imperial kitchen?
All this information was all compiled into the second addition of "The Encyclopedia of Beijing". With 20 columns, 16 million Chinese characters and some 8,000 pictures, the newly published encyclopedia was said to be the world's largest encyclopedia of a national capital, according to Beijing Daily March 13.
Beijing boasts over 3,000 years of city history. The illustrated encyclopedia published by the Olympic Publishing House and the Beijing Publishing House condenses Beijing's history, geography, social activities, sciences, education, economy, and relics into one book.
Beijing's party chief Jia Qinglin and mayor Liu Qi acted as heads of the chief editing committee of the encyclopedia, which has taken three years of compiling work. The book notes down changes and major facelifts carried out in Beijing throughout history.
"The encyclopedia is a landmark cultural infrastructure project in the national capital," said Duan Bingren, the chief desk editor of the book.
From old anecdotes to modern facilities, from ancient opera towers to mushrooming hospitals, theaters and parks, the encyclopedia is an all-round guide book to the ancient and modern Beijing.
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