Do you know how many "hutongs" (lanes) there are in Beijing? Where they got their names from? Where the country's most-complicated dishes, the full Manchu-Han Feast, originated?

You can find the answers to these and thousands of other facts in the recently published second edition of "The Encyclopedia of Beijing," said Xinhua news agency.

From old anecdotes to modern facilities, from ancient opera towers to mushrooming hospitals, theaters and parks, the encyclopedia is an all-round guide to the ancient and the modern Beijing.

The encyclopedia, published by the Olympic Publishing House and the Beijing Publishing House, condenses Beijing's history, geography, social activities, sciences, education, economy, and relics into one book.

Beijing boasts more than 3,000 years of history and the book reveals changes and major face-lifts throughout that time.

Beijing's Party chief Jia Qinglin and Mayor Liu Qi headed the editing committee of the encyclopedia, which took three years to compile.

"The encyclopedia is a landmark cultural infrastructure project in the national capital," said Duan Bingren, its chief desk editor.

(Eastday.com 03/14/2001)