39.9040° N, 116.4065° E

BEIJING

Most Famous People Born in Beijing, China

Notable people

897

Peak decade

1980s

Median birth year

1959

Most distinctive

Emperor 35.1×

An imperial capital with a long red tail. Beijing's most distinctive profession is emperor at more than thirty times the global rate — the Forbidden City fills two millennia of bench — alongside an unusually thick column of gymnasts, badminton players, swimmers, and physicists, the trades of a state athletic system and a strong national science tradition. The modern half adds the actors and directors of the Fifth Generation, the postwar wave that brought Chinese film to international festivals.