Historical capitals of China

Xi'an

Tang Paradise, a complex in Xi'an to show the restoration of its past. Xi'an used to be the capital of 13 dynasties, among whom were Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang., ^[1] which are regarded as the most important dynasties in Chinese history ^[1]

8th century murals in Prince Yide's tomb illustrating the architectures in Chang'an

This is a list of historical capitals of China.

Four Great Ancient Capitals

Beijing

Nanjing

Luoyang

Chang'an

Kaifeng

Hangzhou

Anyang

Zhengzhou

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Legend: "Four Great Ancient Capitals", "Eight Great Ancient Capitals".

Historical capitals of China
Traditional Chinese	中國 四 大 古都
Simplified Chinese	中国四大古都
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngguó sì dà gǔdū Wade–Giles Chung-kuo ssu ta ku-tu

Dynasty / Government		Capital	Period	Notes
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors	Nüwa
	Youchao
	Suiren
	Zhurong
	Fuxi	Chen 陳	c. 2852–2737 BC
	Shennong / Yan Emperor	Lu 魯	c. 2737–2699 BC
	Yellow Emperor	Xuanyuan 軒轅	c. 2699–2588 BC
	Taihao	Wanqiu 宛丘
	Shaohao	Qiongsang 窮桑	c. 2587–2491 BC
	Gonggong
	Zhuanxu	Gaoyang 高陽	c. 2490 BC – 25th century BC
		Diqiu 帝丘	c. 25th century BC – 2413 BC
	Ku	Diqiu 帝丘	c. 2412 BC – 24th century BC
		Bo 亳	c. 24th century BC – 2343 BC
	Zhi	Qinghua 清化	c. 2343–2333 BC
	Yao	Pingyang 平陽	c. 2333–2234 BC
	Shun	Puban 蒲坂	c. 2233–2184 BC
Xia dynasty		Daxia 大夏	Gun
		Song 嵩
		Yangcheng 陽城	Yu [8]
		Yangzhai 陽翟	Yu, Qi, Taikang
		Chu 鉏	Hou Yi
		Qiongshi 窮石	Hou Yi, Hanzhuo
		Zhen 斟	Taikang, Zhongkang
		Diqiu 帝丘	Xiang, Shaokang
		Yuan 原	Zhu
		Laoqiu 老丘	Zhu to Jiong
		Xihe 西河	Jin to Fa
		Zhen 斟	Jie
		Henan 河南	Jie [9]
Shang dynasty		Bo 亳	Tang [9]
		Fan 蕃	Xie
		Dishi 砥石	Zhaoming
		Shang 商	Zhaoming
		Shangqiu 商邱	Xiangtu
		Foot of Mount Tai 泰山麓	Xiangtu
		Shangqiu 商邱	Xiangtu
		Yin 殷	Shanghou
		Shangqiu 商邱	Yinhou
		Bo "西"亳	Tang
		Xiao 囂	Zhongding
		Xiang 相	Hedanjia
		Xing 邢	Zuyi
		Bi 庇	Zuyi
		Yan 奄	Nangeng
		Yin 殷	Pangeng
Zhou dynasty	Western Zhou	Zongzhou 宗周	1046 BC – 771 BC	Western capital
		Chengzhou 成周	1039 BC – 771 BC	Eastern capital(auxiliary capital)
	Eastern Zhou	Chengzhou 成周	770 BC – 367 BC
		Henan 河南	367 BC – 256 BC	capital of the Western Zhou State
		Gong 鞏	367 BC – 249 BC	capital of the Eastern Zhou State
Qin dynasty		Xiquanqiu 西犬丘		Modern Tianshui, Gansu.
		Pingyang 平陽	– 677 BC	Modern Baoji, Shaanxi.
		Yong 雍	677 BC –	Near Baoji, Shaanxi.
		Jingyang 涇陽	– 383 BC	Near Xianyang, Shaanxi, near to Xi'an.
		Yueyang 櫟陽	383 BC – 250 BC	Located in modern Xi'an.
		Xianyang 咸陽	350 BC – 207 BC	City in modern Shaanxi, near to Xi'an
Han dynasty	Western Han	Luoyang 雒陽	202 BC
		Yueyang 櫟陽	202 BC – 200 BC	Located in modern Xi'an
		Chang'an 長安	200 BC – 8 BC
Xin dynasty		Chang'an 常安	AD 8–23
Han dynasty	Eastern Han	Luoyang 雒陽	AD 25–190
		Chang'an 長安	191–195
		Xu 許	196–220	Modern Xuchang, Henan.
Three Kingdoms period	Cao Wei	Luoyang 洛陽	220–265
	Shu Han	Chengdu 成都	221–263
	Eastern Wu	Jianye 建業	227–279	Later called Jiankang. Located near modern Nanjing.
Jin dynasty	Western Jin	Luoyang 洛陽	265–313
		Chang'an 長安	313–316
	Eastern Jin	Jiankang 建康	317–420	Located near modern Nanjing.
Northern dynasties	Northern Wei	Pingcheng 平城	386–493	Modern Datong, Shanxi.
		Luoyang 洛陽	493–534
	Eastern Wei	Ye 鄴	534–550	Located in modern Handan, Hebei.
	Western Wei	Chang'an 長安	535–557
	Northern Qi	Ye 鄴	550–577
	Northern Zhou	Chang'an 長安	557–581
Southern dynasties	Liu Song	Jiankang 建康	420–479
	Southern Qi	Jiankang 建康	479–502
	Liang dynasty	Jiankang 建康	502–557
	Chen dynasty	Jiankang 建康	557–589
Sui dynasty		Daxing 大興	581–618	auxiliary capital (605–618). Modern Chang'an.
		Dongdu 東都	605–618	Modern Luoyang, Henan.
Tang dynasty		Chang'an 長安	618–690
		Luoyang 洛陽	657–690	auxiliary capital
Wu Zhou		Luoyang 洛陽	690–705
Tang dynasty (restored)		Chang'an 長安	705–904
		Luoyang 洛陽	705–736	auxiliary capital
		Luoyang 洛陽	904–907
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period	Later Liang	Dongdu 東都	907–923
	Later Tang	Dongdu 東都	923–936
	Later Jin	Dongjing 東京	936–947
	Later Han	Dongjing 東京	947–950
	Later Zhou	Dongjing 東京	951–960
Song dynasty	Northern Song	Dongjing 東京	960–1127	Modern Kaifeng, Henan.
	Southern Song	Nanjing 南京	1127–1129	After the fall of Dongjing, Zhao Gou declares himself emperor in Henan
		Yangzhou 揚州	1129–1130	Flight of Emperor Gaozong during the Jin invasion of the Yangtze Delta in 1129–1130.
		Zhenjiang 鎮江
		Lin'an 臨安
		Yuezhou 越州
		Mingzhou 明州
		Dinghai 定海
		Off the coast Taizhou, Wenzhou "海上朝廷"
		Zhang'an 章安
		Yuezhou 越州
		Lin'an 臨安	1130–1276	Song court settles in Lin'an for 146 years
		Fuzhou 福州	1276–1277	Flight of Emperor Duanzong along the southeast coast following the fall of Lin'an in 1276.
		Guangzhou 廣州	1277–1278
		Guanfuchang 官富場	1278
		Gangzhou 碙州		Emperor Bingzong succeeds Duanzong on Lantau Island in modern Hong Kong
		Yashan 崖山	1278–1279	Song court makes last stand off the coast of Yashan
Liao dynasty		Shangjing 上京	907–1120	Modern Linhuangfu, Inner Mongolia.
		Nanjing 南京	1122–1123	Modern Beijing.
Western Liao		Emin 葉密立	1132–1134	In modern Xinjiang.
		Balasagun 虎思斡耳朵	1134–1218
Jin dynasty		Shangjing 上京	1115–1153	Also called Huiningfu.
		Zhongdu 中都	1153–1214	Located in modern-day Beijing.
		Nanjing 南京	1214–1234	Modern Kaifeng.
Western Xia		Xingqing 興慶	1038–1227	Modern Yinchuan in Ningxia.
Yuan dynasty		Shangdu 上都	May 1264 – 1267	Known in the West as "Xanadu."
		Dadu 大都	1267 [10] – August 1368	Also called Khanbaliq; located in modern-day Beijing.
Northern Yuan		Shangdu 上都	August 1368 – 1369	Known in the West as "Xanadu."
		Yingchang 應昌	1369–1370
		Karakorum 哈拉和林	1371–1388
Ming dynasty		Nanjing 南京	23 January 1368 – 2 February 1421
		Beijing 北京	2 February 1421 – 25 April 1644
Southern Ming		Nanjing 南京	1644 – 1645
		Fuzhou 福州	1645 – 1646
		Guangzhou 廣州	1646 – 1647
		Zhaoqing 肇慶	1646 – 25 April 1662
Later Jin		Fe Ala 費阿拉	1587–1603
		Hetu Ala 赫圖阿拉	1603–1619	Later renamed Xingjing (興京).
		Jiefan 界凡	1619 – September 1620
		Sarhu 薩爾滸	September 1620 – April 1621
		Dongjing 東京	April 1621 – 11 April 1625
		Shengjing 盛京	11 April 1625 – 1636	Today known as Shenyang, also called by the Manchu name "Mukden."
Qing dynasty		Shengjing 盛京	1636 – 30 October 1644	Today known as Shenyang, also called by the Manchu name "Mukden."
		Beijing 北京	30 October 1644 [11] – 12 February 1912 [12]
Republic of China		Nanjing 南京	1 January 1912 – 2 April 1912	Provisional Government
		Beijing 北京	2 April 1912 – 30 May 1928	Beiyang government [12]
		Fengtian 奉天	30 May 1928 – 29 December 1928	Beiyang government
		Guangzhou 廣州	1 July 1925 – 21 February 1927	Guangzhou Nationalist Government
		Wuhan 武漢	21 February 1927 – 19 August 1927	Wuhan Nationalist Government [13]
		Nanjing 南京	18 April 1927 – 20 November 1937	the Nanjing decade [12]
		Luoyang 洛陽	29 Jan 1932 – 1 December 1932
		Beijing 北平	9 September 1930 – 23 September 1930	Beiping Nationalist Government
		Taiyuan 太原	23 September 1930 – 4 November 1930	Beiping Nationalist Government
		Guangzhou 廣州	28 May 1931 – 22 December 1931	Guangzhou Nationalist Government
		Chongqing 重慶	21 November 1937 – 5 May 1946	during the Second Sino-Japanese War [12]
		Nanjing 南京	30 March 1940 – 10 August 1945	Wang Jingwei Government
		Nanjing 南京	5 May 1946 – 1 May 1991	From 23 April 1949 to 1 May 1991, Nanjing was the claimed capital of the Republic of China
		Guangzhou 廣州	23 April 1949 – 14 October 1949	during the Chinese Civil War
		Chongqing 重慶	14 October 1949 – 30 November 1949	during the Chinese Civil War
		Chengdu 成都	30 November 1949 – 27 December 1949	during the Chinese Civil War
		Xichang 西昌	27 December 1949 – 27 March 1950	during the Chinese Civil War
		Taipei 台北	10 December 1949 – Present	Established as capital following the Republic of China retreat to Taiwan
Chinese Soviet Republic People's Republic of China		Ruijin 瑞金	7 November 1931 – 10 October 1934	Establishments of the Chinese Soviet Republic
		Bao'an 保安	July 1936 – January 1937	From 1934 to 1936, the Long March occurred.
		Yan'an 延安	January 1937 – 22 September 1937	CSR dissolves in the midst of the formation of the Second United Front
		Beijing 北京	1 October 1949 – Present

See also

• China portal

• Former capitals of Chinese provinces
• Chinese palace
• Dynasties of China
• History of China
• Names of Beijing

References

1. "Xi'an". Encarta. September 3, 2008. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
2. "中国四大古都的前世之谜-深度阅读 -". www.silkroads.org.cn. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
3. Denis Twitchett, Herbert Franke, John K. Fairbank, in The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p 454.
4. Millward, J. A. (2013). New Qing imperial history the making of inner Asian empire at Qing Chengde. Taylor and Francis. http://suss.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=200446
5. Ma, Xinru; Kang, David C. (2024). Beyond Power Transitions: The Lessons of East Asian History and the Future of U.S.-China Relations. Columbia Studies in International Order and Politics. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN   978-0-231-55597-5.
6. Ebrey, Patricia (2010). The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press. pp. 220–224. ISBN   978-0-521-12433-1.
7. Sima Qian; Sima Tan (1739) [90s BCE]. "7: 項羽本紀". Shiji史記 [Records of the Grand Historian] (in Literary Chinese) (punctuated ed.). Beijing: Imperial Household Department.
8. 李玉潔. [2003] (2003). 中國早期國家性質. 知書房出版集團. ISBN   986-7938-17-8, ISBN   978-986-7938-17-6.
9. Bamboo annals Xia chapter on Xia Jie under the name Gui (癸).
10. Kenneth Pletcher (2010) ”The History of China”, page 173 ISBN   1615301097
11. William T. Rowe (2009) ”China's Last Empire: The Great Qing”, page 19 ISBN   0674036123
12. Esherick, Joseph. [2000] (2000). Remaking the Chinese City: Modernity and National Identity, 1900-1950. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN   0-8248-2518-7.
13. Clark, Anne Biller. Clark, Anne Bolling. Klein, Donald. Klein, Donald Walker. [1971] (1971). Harvard Univ. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese communism. Original from the University of Michigan v.1. Digitized Dec 21, 2006. p 134.