Haidian, Beijing Municipality, China

🇨🇳 Haidian District (海淀区;) is a district of the municipality of Beijing. It is mostly situated in north-western Beijing, but also to a lesser extent in the west, where it has borders with Xicheng District and Fengtai District.

It is 431 square km in area, making it the second-largest district in urban Beijing area (after Chaoyang).

History Haidian was originally a village outside of Beijing's Inner City. It was first built in the Yuan Dynasty and became one of the eight major business areas of the capital during the Qing Dynasty and was the seat of such old shops as Lotus White, Quanjude and Hongbin House. The famed Old Summer Palace and Summer Palace, two grand imperial gardens are also among its reputed features. It became a university district after the building of the Tsinghua University and Yenching University campus in the early twentieth century. It is mentioned in Lao She's novel Camel Xiangzi as an academic village for students. After the foundation of the People's Republic, it was deliberately developed as a university area, with many of the Yan'an institutions moving there. It officially became an administrative district in June 1954. Since the reform and opening up, it has become the centre of China's IT industry. In the words of Time magazine:

Like Paris' Champs Elysées or New York's Broadway, Haidian is a celebration of a national myth: China's ability to change itself and become, once again, great among nations.

During the later half of the 1990s, out of the Beijing districts, Haidian had the highest per capita GDP. During that period the GDP of Haidian (1) District grew by double digits each year.

Communities • Zhongguancun • Wudaokou • Madian.

**Important areas in Haidian District ** • Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan Park) • Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) • Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan or Jingyi Palace) • Beijing Botanical Garden (Beijing Zhiwuyuan) • Jade Spring Hill (Yuquanshan or Jingming Palace) • Haidian Park • Pagoda at the Wuta Temple • Purple Bamboo Park (Zizhuyuan) • Yuyuantan Park • Diaoyutai State Guesthouse • Baidu headquarters • Sohu headquarters • Sinosteel Plaza • Youku headquarters • Haidian Christian Church.

Government and infrastructure The China National Space Administration has its headquarters in the district. The Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center which serves as the central command centre for the Chinese space program is also located in the district.

The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) has its headquarters in Zhongguancun. The People's Liberation Army Military Music Hall is located in the district.

The Ministry of State Security has facilities operating in the district.

Economy In 2017, the regional GDP was 592.48 billion yuan, with a GDP per capita at 170.8 thousand yuan (25293 US dollars).

A central part of Haidian's economy, the Zhongguancun electronics district, hosts the Beijing offices of many software and computer-technology companies. • Baidu has its headquarters in the Baidu Campus. • Sohu has its headquarters in the Sohu.com Internet Plaza. • Sinosteel's headquarters are in the Sinosteel Plaza (simplified Chinese: 中钢国际广场; traditional Chinese: 中鋼國際廣場; Zhōnggāng Guójì Guǎngchǎng) in Haidian District. • Youku has its headquarters on the fifth floor of Sinosteel Plaza. • Wumart has its headquarters in the Wumart Commercial Building (物美商业大厦; 物美商業大廈; Wù Měi Shāngyè Dàshà) in Haidian District. • aigo's head office is in the Ideal Plaza (理想国际大厦; 理想國際大廈; Lǐxiǎng Guójì Dàshà) in the Haidian District. • China Postal Airlines has its headquarters on the 11th through 14th floors of the Ziyu Office Building (紫玉写字楼; 紫玉寫字樓; Zǐyù Xiězìlóu) in Haidian District. • Sinovac Biotech • The Beijing Civil Aircraft Technology Research Center of COMAC (北京民用飞机技术研究中心) has its offices on the 8th floor of the Beijing Olympic Building (北京奥运大厦; 北京奧運大廈; Běijīng Àoyùn Dàshà) in Haidian District. • Xiaomi has its headquarters in the Office Building of Huarun Wucai City (华润五彩城写字楼; 華潤五彩城寫字樓; Huárùn Wǔcǎi Chéng Xiězìlóu). • Nuctech. • New Oriental • Google has its Beijing office in Tsinghua Science Park Bldg 6 • Everbright International has its Beijing office in the Beijing International Building (北京国际大厦) in Zhongguancun. • ByteDance (developer of Douyin / TikTok) has its global headquarters on Zhichun Road (知春路), Haidian District. • Lenovo has its global headquarters in Lenovo Campus, Haidian District. • Grab has its Beijing office in Raycom Infotech Park.

Higher education Institutions of higher education in Haidian include: • Beihang University (formerly Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) • Beijing Film Academy • Beijing Foreign Studies University • Beijing Forestry University • Beijing Institute of Technology • Beijing Jiaotong University • Beijing Language and Culture University • Beijing Normal University • Beijing Sport University • Capital Normal University • China Agricultural University • China University of Geosciences Beijing • China University of Political Science and Law • Minzu University of China (formerly Central University for Nationalities) • Peking University • Renmin University of China • Tsinghua University • University of International Relations • University of Science and Technology Beijing