Historical capitals of China

Updated on Oct 21, 2023

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There are traditionally four historical capitals of China, collectively referred to as the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" (中国四大古都; 中國四大古都; Zhōngguó Sì Dà Gǔ Dū). The four are Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and Xi'an (Chang'an). As more new archaeological evidence began to be uncovered since the 1930s, other historical capitals have been included in the list. The phrase "Seven Ancient Capitals of China" now includes – in addition to the earlier four – Kaifeng (added in the 1920s), Hangzhou (added in the 1930s), and Anyang (added after 1988). In 2004, the China Ancient Capital Society officially included Zhengzhou as the eighth historical capital in light of new archaeological findings dating from the early Shang dynasty.

List of historical capitals of China

Sorted in alphabetical order

Acheng District of the city of Harbin was the capital of the Jin dynasty from 1115 to 1153. It was called Shangjing (上京; Shàngjīng; "Upper Capital") or Huining Prefecture at the time. It was destroyed in 1157 and reestablished as a secondary capital in 1173.

Anyang was the capital of the Shang dynasty roughly from 1600 BC until 1046 BC. It was called Yin (殷; Yīn).

Beijing (also romanised Peking), literally meaning "Northern Capital", previously also known as Beiping, was the capital of various dynasties and governments, including:

Changchun or (Shinjin) was the capital of Manchuria during the Japanese occupation in WWII.

Chengdu was the capital of the state of Shu Han (AD 221–263) during the Three Kingdoms period. It was also briefly the seat of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China in late 1949 towards the end of the Chinese Civil War.

Chongqing (also romanised Chungking) was the provisional capital of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), and briefly the seat of the Nationalist government in late 1949 towards the end of the Chinese Civil War.

Datong was the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty from AD 398 to 493.

Guangzhou (also romanised Canton) was the capital of:

Hangzhou (also romanised Hangchou or Hangchow) was the capital of:

Fenghao, located near present-day Xi'an, was the capital of the Western Zhou dynasty from 1046 BC to 771 BC.

Kaifeng was the capital of various dynasties, including:

Luoyang was the capital of various dynasties, including:

Nanjing (also romanised Nanking), literally meaning "Southern Capital", was the capital of various dynasties and governments, including:

Taipei in Taiwan has been the de facto capital of the Republic of China since 1949.

Wuhan was the capital of a government formed by Wang Jingwei and leftist members of the Kuomintang in 1927. It opposed the Nationalist government led by Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek.

Xanadu/Shangdu (上都; Shàngdū; "Upper Capital"), located northwest of present-day Dolon Nor in Inner Mongolia, was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty. It was destroyed in 1369.

Xi'an (also romanised Sian), previously called Chang'an, and including its surrounding areas in present-day Shaanxi Province, was the capital of various dynasties, including:

Ye, located within the present-day city of Handan, was the capital of the Eastern Wei dynasty from AD 534 to 550, and the Northern Qi dynasty (AD 550–577).

Yinchuan was the capital of the Western Xia from 1038 to 1227, when it was called Xingqing (simplified Chinese: 兴庆; traditional Chinese: 興慶; pinyin: Xīngqìng).

References

Historical capitals of China Wikipedia

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