How far away? and a few other questions

	北京

Beijing means "Northern Capital." People from all over China and all over the world have made their homes here.




The best street food in Beijing from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Fossil remains of pre-homo sapiens hominids (which may or may not be our direct ancestors) date back to at least 250,000 years ago ("Peking Man" or "homo erectus pekinensis"), with more recent fossil finds dating back much earlier.  

Today, the population is estimated at 20 million, with the influx of many migrants; since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the city has exanded greatly, especially in the last two decades.  However, Shanghai is the most populous city in China.


How far away is Beijing?
The straight line distance between Minneapolis and Beijing is approximately 6298 miles or 10,136 kilometers. Minneapolis is farther north than Beijing, but not by much.

What time is it there? What is the time difference between China and Minneapolis? I'm confused!
All of mainland China is on "China Standard Time" and does not use Daylight Savings Time. What is the time difference between CST and Minneapolis time right now? Add 13 hours (see the widget on the right side of this blog for current date and time).

What is a dollar worth in Chinese currency?

The currency in China is called Renminbi (RMB) and is issued by the national bank — the People's Bank of China. The units of Renminbi are Yuan, Jiao and Fen.  Ten Fen (like cents) is one Jiao (like a dime) and Ten Jiao is one Yuan (the basic unit).  The abbreviation of Renminbi is RMB or CNY with its symbol of ￥. Colloquially, Chinese people often say Kuai and Mao instead of Yuan and Jiao.

The exchange rate right now is about 6.5 yuan to the U.S. dollar.  1 yuan is about 15 cents, so 10 yuan is about $1.50 and 100 yuan is about $15.00. 

This ad for a language school combines sights of daily life in Beijing with characters and pinyin for basic vocabulary.

EF - Live The Language - Beijing from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.