Built on sand on around the banks of the river Spree, Berlin has been one of Europe's most influential economic, cultural and political centres - for better or worse - since it's origins as a trading post in the 13th century. It was capital of both the Prussian and the German Empire until World War I uprooted the Hohenzollern dynasty, which had ruled since the 15th Century. After the War the Weimer Republic was established and Berlin enjoyed a period of unprecedented prosperity and creativity - known as the 'Golden Twenties'. In the 30s however the German economy was collapsing and a accumulation of socio-political reasons saw Hitler and the Nazi party seize power. Berlin became the centre of one of the most infamous regimes in history, and remained so until 1945 when it was liberated by the Red Army. Unfortunately liberation was a painful process. The Russians, who has lost close to 30 million people in the conflict, exacted a heavy revenge on the citizens of Berli
Beijing, China's national capital, is situated at the north edge of the North China Plain. Not far to its northwest is the vast Inner Mongolian Plateau and a hundred kilometers to the east is the Bohai Sea. Beijng is also flanked by the crawling Taihang Mountains to its west and the alluvial plain by the rivers of Yongding and Chaobai to its south. Located in the North Temperate Zone with a continental monsoon climate, Beijing enjoys and annual mean temperature of 11.8°C (53.24°F) and annual mean precipitation of 630 mm, which concentrates mainly in the summer. January is the coldest month with the monthly mean temperature of -4.7°C (23.54°F) while July the hottest month with a mean temperature of 26.1°C (78.98°F). Beijing's spring is relatively short, and people used to say that when the last day of the winter is gone, the summer is about to set in. Summer is usually hot with abundant rainfall. Autumn days are cool with clear sky and gentle breeze, making it the best s