Beijing, formerly known by the romanized name Peking, serves as the capital city of China. Located in Northern China, it is governed as a provincial-level direct-administered municipality consisting of 16 municipal districts. The city is primarily surrounded by Hebei Province and borders the Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
With a population exceeding 21.8 million residents, Beijing is recognized as the world's most populous national capital city. It ranks as China's second-largest city by urban area, following Shanghai. Together with its neighboring regions, it forms part of the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster.