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, maki...