Beijing
In the half-century since 1949, Beijing expanded from 1.7 million people in an area of 62 square kilometers to a vast administrative region of 16,800 square kilometers with a population of 16 million. Beijing was the majestic "Northern Capital" for centuries, but only really began to flourish after the Beijing dialect (mandarin) became the dominant national spoken language after the collapse of the dynasty in 1911. The city was chosen as the new national capital in 1949 (replacing Nanjing), and has been repeatedly transformed as a reflection of grand national projects -- the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the post-1978 economic reform era, the new market development zones culminating in the Haidan District "Silicon Valley," the accession to the World Trade Organization, and the 2008 Olympic Games. Source: Jack F. Williams and Kam Wing Chan (2008). "Cities of East Asia." In Stanley D. Brunn, Maureen Hays-Mitchell, and Donald J. Ziegler, eds., Cities of the World: World Regional Urban Development, Fourth Edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 474-527.