Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Marsh, and I'm here today to teach you all about opportunities in Beijing.

So grab everything that you need for today's lesson, and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe ways in which Beijing has developed over time, and identify opportunities in living and working in this global city.

There are five key terms for today's lesson.

Those are urbanisation, infrastructure, services, global city, and transnational corporations.

Urbanisation refers to the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities, rather than the countryside.

Infrastructure refers to all the basic systems in a country such as transport and power supply.

Services, well, a service is a system that supplies a public need, for example, waste collection.

A global city is a city that is a major centre for trade and communication with other places around the world.

And finally, transnational corporation are large businesses that operate in many different countries globally.

There are two learning cycles for today's lesson, and we're gonna start with learning cycle one, which is how has Beijing changed over time? Beijing is a city located on the eastern coast of China, as shown on the map in front of you.

It is also one of the most populous cities in China with over 20 million people living there.

It is also one of the largest cities in the world.

It can also be defined as both a global city and a mega city.

A mega city is any city with more than 10 million people living there, and Beijing is certainly one of those.

Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world with its foundation, believed to have been around 1045 BC.

But people are thought to have inhabited the area around Beijing, since the Stone Age, which is hundreds of thousands of years ago.

This is a reconstruction of Peking man, whose fossil remains were found near Beijing.

It is thought that he lived between 770,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Around 3,000 years ago, a community settled, near the present day location of Beijing.

China's histories often split into dynasties during which different families ruled over much of the country.

You may have heard of such dynasties as the Han Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty.

Well, different groups of family took control of the area around Beijing during different dynasties and built a city there.

Now, as Lucas says, "Apart from a few brief periods, Beijing has been the capital of China for around 800 years." Time now for a learning check, answer true or false.

Beijing was first inhabited in the 18th century.

What you need to do right now then is pause the video, whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now, what you need to do again is pause the video, whilst you consider as to why this statement is false.

Can you think of the correct answer? Pause the video here.

And the correct answer or the reason why this statement was false is, well, people are thought to have actually first inhabited the area around Beijing, hundreds of thousands of years ago.

So really, really well done, if you've got those two answers correct.

There are many historical sites located around Beijing.

It is a real historical cultural city.

Now, the Forbidden City, which is pictured in front of you, is a former royal palace that is more than 600 years old, and it's the largest palace complex anywhere in the world.

As Jun says, "It was called the Forbidden City because most people were actually forbidden to enter it or even go anywhere near it." Now, this forbidden palace, then this Forbidden City, is now a real popular tourist destination with both Chinese people as well as international tourists as well.

Now, the Great Wall of China is maybe something that you've heard of before.

It is really synonymous with China, and actually, it passes through the outskirts of Beijing.

And some facts about the Great Wall of China, well, it is the longest wall in the world.

Construction began in the seventh century BC, so 700 years before the birth of Christ.

It took more than 2,000 years to build, and is actually a series of walls which stretch a total distance of 21,000 kilometres.

And it was built to protect northern China from invasions.

So a quick learning check.

It says, "What is the approximate total distance covered by the Great Wall of China?" You have four options on the screen in front of you.

What I need you to do is pause the video here, whilst you read through those four options, and select what you think is the correct answer.

Best of luck.

And the correct answer was D with 21,000 kilometres.

And actually, as Izzy says, "Measured at the Equator, 21,000 kilometres, is almost half the circumference of Earth." So really, really well done if you are able to remember and select the option at D.

Beijing's population has grown rapidly in the last 70 years, and that's true for China's total population actually.

But the graph at the bottom of the screen is showing us the population of Beijing, and how it has changed since 1950 to current day.

Now, along the X-axis, we we have our years, and on the Y-axis, then we have the population in millions.

If we look at how it started in 1950, there were less than 2 million people living in Beijing.

Fast forward to today, and we can see that around 22 million people now live in Beijing.

And to put that into context or perspective, that is about a third of the total population of the UK.

So we're really getting a sense of just the enormity of Beijing as a city.

And as I said before, any city which has more than 10 million people living there, is known as a mega city.

And Beijing at 22 million people, is certainly that.

Beijing has seen extensive urbanisation in recent years.

Now, urbanisation refers to the growth of its urban areas.

The city has been growing.

Now, many new commercial and residential buildings, have been constructed as a result.

The CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, is the tallest building in Beijing.

And you can see it in that image there, how it towers above even those skyscrapers around it.

And China is home to some of the tallest buildings anywhere in the world.

There have been developments also in infrastructure and services as China uses its economic might to modernise and improve its services and infrastructure such as transport and communication networks.

Now, because of this investment in their infrastructure, Beijing's transport system has expanded massively, and millions of people now use it every single day, be it for work, leisure or recreation.

Now, the city has two large airports as well as major railway stations dotted around the city, which connects it with other major cities around China.

It has a subway or a metro or a tube, let's say, if you are more familiar with the London vocabulary.

It has a well developed bus service as well, as well as a bike or rental scheme.

So you can see how China or the Beijing authorities, are really trying to invest in public transport as well as green transport such as bicycles, to really aid their people being able to move effortlessly around the city.

Now, GIS and satellite imagery can be used to show the growth of Beijing.

On the screen in front of you, we've got one satellite image from 1977, and we've got one from 2,000.

And we can see two main different colours on those two images, but what do they mean? Well, in these images, the blue colour shows buildings and pavements, essentially urban areas, whilst the red colour is showing us natural and agricultural vegetation.

Once we understand the two colours, we can refer back to the two images and try to understand what is being shown.

Well, in 1977, we can see that in terms of the urban area of Beijing, it is very small compared with in 2,000, where it has expanded rapidly at the cost of those red areas, which are the natural and agricultural vegetation.

So we have a learning check, and it says, "Which of the following statements correctly describe how Beijing has changed over time?" Select two answers.

So what you need to do here then is, pause the video, read through those four options, and select the two answers that you believe to be correct.

Good luck.

And the two correct answers are, an expanded transport system, so they're really invested in their infrastructure, and also D, extensive urbanisation.

And you saw that in the previous slide with the GIS images which show Beijing really growing outwards at a rapid rate, and this is known as urbanisation, the growing proportion of people living in towns and cities.

So really, really well done if you're able to get B and D as the correct answers.

So we're now to our one an early practise question for the first learning cycle.

And it says too, "Describe some of the ways in which Beijing has changed over time.

You may like to include changes in population, land use, infrastructure and services." So what I'd like you to do then right now is pause the video whilst you attempt this practise question.

Best of luck.

Okay, and here's the feedback, and a possible answer you may yourself have written.

So it says, "Beijing has changed significantly over time.

The area around Beijing has been inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years.

Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world, and it's been the capital of China almost continuously for around 800 years.

The population has grown rapidly in the last 70 years, and Beijing is now one of the world's most populous cities.

Beijing has seen extensive urbanisation.

Infrastructure and services have developed, and more and more commercial residential buildings, have been constructed." So really, really well done if you are able to include anything like that in your own answer.

Right now, to our second and final learning cycle.

And it says, "What opportunities are there in Beijing?" Now, Beijing's rapid growth and status as a global city, which means an important city which is really well connected with other major cities around the world, it provides a wide range of opportunities for people.

And as Izzy says, "These opportunities make Beijing an attractive destination for people to live, study, and work in." What do you think these opportunities are? You may like to pause the video here whilst you consider your own response to that whilst you think of the different opportunities for people, or you could even discuss it with someone near you.

Now, Beijing is an important financial centre, not only nationally in China, but more internationally and globally as well.

Many large transnational corporations have bases or headquarters there such as Huawei, Lenovo, and the China National Petroleum Corporation.

And as Aisha says, "Beijing is a major hub for technology companies as well." So it attracts a lot of investment from around the world, which is creating an economic growth in China, and providing jobs and income for its people.

There are many different industries in Beijing which provide job opportunities, and these include construction.

So as China's economy grows, and as it becomes more and more urbanised, there will be an increasing number of opportunities within the construction industry.

Entertainment, finance and banking, and as China's economy grows into a real global power that we're seeing right now, there are opportunities within the finance and banking sector.

Information technology, once again, China is really leading the way in terms of the information technology sector.

Manufacturing, for decades now, China has been a key industrial component in terms of manufacturing goods, which we buy and use here in the western world.

Property as well, scientific research, China, once again, thanks to its research and innovation, is leading the way in different areas of scientific research.

And finally, tourism.

China is really beginning to grow its tourism industry as it tries to attract tourists from close regional countries as well as more international countries from around the world.

As Lucas says then, "Thousands of people move to Beijing each year in search of these jobs in these sectors." So we can really begin to see how both Beijing and China is really stepping up, and having a variety of different job opportunities that's going to attract people from around China as well as internationally to come and live and work in the city of Beijing.

On now to a learning check, and it says, "Izzy and Sam are having a discussion, and you need to decide who is correct." Now Sam, she says, "There aren't many job opportunities for people in Beijing." Whilst Izzy says, "There are many different industries in Beijing which provide jobs." What you need to do then is pause the video here, read back through those two statements, and decide who you think is correct.

And the correct answer was Izzy.

Now, my follow-up question to that is, can you give any examples of some of those industries that are found in Beijing? We just talked about them just a moment ago.

Can you recall any of those different types of industries? Once again, I'd like you to pause the video here, whilst you try to recall some of that information.

And some correct answers could have included construction, entertainment, finance, banking, information technology, manufacturing, property, scientific research, and tourism.

Really, really well done, if you are able to remember any of those different types of industries.

Cities generally, have better infrastructure and services than rural areas, by which I mean, countryside areas, and these typically include education.

So perhaps there being more or better schooling opportunities in urban areas such as Beijing, better or better access to healthcare across urban areas, better quality housing, and finally, more and well connected transport services as well.

As Sam says, "Many people moved to Beijing from elsewhere in China and other countries to study at one of its and colleges." So education is a real pull factor.

It attracts people not only from within China, but also internationally as well.

Beijing has many popular tourist attractions, and millions of people visit the city each and every single year.

Now, looking at that image on the right-hand side of the screen, what do you think is actually happening in that photograph? You may like to pause the video here whilst you really study that photograph, and try to understand or try to work out what is going on.

Well, although the city is very built up, there are still lots of parks, gardens, and green spaces as we can see in that image.

And actually, how did you get on with that? We can see that people in that park are actually on some stationary bikes, getting a bit of exercise in a clean, open air surrounded by a greenery and park.

So although Beijing is very, very much urbanised, there are also good sports and leisure facilities found there.

There is also a flourishing hospitality industry in Beijing with many hotels, restaurants, bars, and travel services for local and international visitors.

There are also numerous places to go shopping from markets to gigantic malls, as we can see on the right-hand side here.

There are very modern, very advanced, very technological, and it's a showcase really of Beijing's increasing power and wealth.

So a quick learning check.

Beijing offers a wide range of opportunities, true or false? You need to pause the video here, whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was true.

Now, once again, you need to pause the video whilst you consider how or why Beijing is able to offer a wide range of opportunities.

And the correct answer was, well, "Beijing's rapid growth and status as a global city, provides a wide range of opportunities in areas such as jobs and education.

Urban areas generally have better infrastructure and services than rural areas." So really, really well done if you're able to get those two answers correct.

So we have one practise task for the second and final learning cycle, and it says, "Imagine that you have recently moved to Beijing for work or study." I want you to write a short email to a friend describing some of the opportunities of living in this global city.

Now, what I'd like you to do then is pause the video here, whilst you attempt this practise task.

Best of luck.

In terms of feedback, then your email may have included something like this.

So I've said, "Hi Sam, I hope that this letter finds you well.

I wanted to share some of the incredible opportunities I've come across, since moving to Beijing.

It's such an amazing city.

Firstly, the economy is thriving, and there are lots of jobs in different sectors, such as finance, entertainment, information technology, and more.

Many transnational corporations have bases here.

I'm really enjoying my new job at Lenovo.

The city has a well developed transport system, which makes it easy to get around and travel to other parts of China.

You can travel by bus, train, subway, or rickshaw.

There are lots of bicycles to rent.

There is so much to do in your free time.

Beijing is a popular tourist destination, as there are many different historical sites.

The Great Wall of China passes through the outskirts of Beijing.

There are also lots of park, shopping centres, and leisure facilities.

Beijing is an enormous city.

It has a population of around 22 million.

There are people here from all over China and the world.

Life is busy in Beijing, but I'm having a great time.

Let me know if you ever want to visit.

I'd love to show you around.

Best wishes, Izzy." So, how did you do? Really, really well done, if you were able to include any of that style of description in your own email.

And my final question to you, after learning all about Beijing and its fantastic opportunities today, would you like to live in a huge city like Beijing? We're on now to our learning summary, and this is what you need to know from today's lesson.

Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world with a history dating back around 3,000 years.

Beijing's population has increased.

More and more land is becoming built up, and infrastructure has developed.

Beijing's rapid growth and status as a global city, provides a wide range of opportunities, and many large transnational corporations.

have bases in Beijing.

So really, really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you, and I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye.