AHelsinki is the capital and the largest city of Finland. It is one of the most populous cities of the country. It is also the international gateway of Finland. The city has Finland's largest immigrant population in both absolute and relative terms.

General climate and the best time to visit

Helsinki has a climate that is transitional between maritime and continental. Summers are warm and bright with temperature ranging from 15°C to 30°C. July is the warmest month. Days are long and sunny with up to 19 hours of daylight. Towards the end of September temperature cools down drastically as days grows shorter and by November the weather reaches the freezing point as the snowy winter sets in. Temperature goes below the freezing point where the sea itself freezes and there is never fully daylight. The spring arrives late in the month of April.

Helsinki is a favorable place for visit through out the year. The snowcapped lands during the winter months attracts a number of visitors. The summer and the spring with its favorable climate becomes another factor for attracting visitors.

Helsinki is located in the southern part of Finland on the shore of the Gulf of Finland by the Baltic Sea. Helsinki's positions as the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with the neighboring cities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen Helsinki constitutes what is known as the capital region. The greater Helsinki area contains several additional municipalities ans has a population of 1,293,093. There are people from over 130 nationalities resident in Helsinki. The largest groups are from Russia, Estonia, Sweden, Somalia, Serbia, China, Iraq and Germany.
The total are coverage of Helsinki is 184.4 sq. km.

Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fenno Scandinavian and western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredient whereas spices are uncommon due to its historical non - presence. In past years Finnish foods often vary from place to place even between east and west. In the village and lakeside areas fish is the main feature of cooking whereas in the eastern and northern region vegetables and reindeer were common. Breakfast is quite substantial and many nutritionists consider breakfast a very important meal since it provides vital nourishment and energy at the beginning of the day. A typical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental style food such as the bread. Fish and meat play a prominent role in the traditional Finnish dish from the western part while the traditional dishes of the eastern part includes vegetables and mushrooms. Some of the traditional dishes of Helsinki are:

• Karelian pasties
• Mammi
• Cabbage rolls
• Smoked fish (Many types of fish like salmon, zander, pike, perch)
• Cold smoked fish
• Lihapullat (Finnish meat balls)
  
  Some of the common variety of breads are:
  
  
• Bark bread
• Pulla or sweet bread
• Ruislepipa or rye bread

Government:

Unlike the Nordic countries like Denmark , Norway and Sweden which has constitutional monarchy, Finland has a republican form of government. It has a semi-presidential system. The president is responsible for foreign policy outside the European nation in co - operation with the cabinet ministers. The executive powers lies in the hands of the prime ministers. The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the “Eduskunta” in Finnish. The parliament has the right to alter the constitution of Finland, bring about a resignation of the council of state and override presidential vetoes.

The judicial system of Finland is divided between courts with regular civil, criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts. The highest court of judgment of the country is the supreme court. Finland deepened its participation in the European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. According to Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of corruption among all the countries as studied in a survey for the last several years.

There is mayor several deputy mayors, a secretary-general, and directors of different municipal commissions offices and bureaus in the Beijing Municipal Government. For a five-year term, the People's Government of Beijing Municipality is elected.

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