There is a city named Beijing.
Beijing ( formerly romanised as Peking ) is the capital of the People 's Republic of China and the world 's third most populous city proper . The city , located in northern China , is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government with 16 urban , suburban , and rural districts . Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai and is the nation 's political , cultural , and educational centre . Beijing was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium A.D. .