Ancient Capitals of China

Many Chinese cities have served as capitals. The usual list of “Seven Ancient Capitals” is Xi'an, Luoyang, Nanjing, Beijing, Kaifeng, Hangzhou and Anyang; the China Ancient Capitals Society later added Zhengzhou, making the “Eight Ancient Capitals”. Most lie on the middle and lower Yellow River, the heartland of the early Central Plains dynasties; Nanjing and Hangzhou, on the lower Yangtze, were capitals of southern dynasties; Beijing, at the north end of the North China Plain, was the capital of the Yuan, Ming and Qing.

Xi'an

Formerly Chang'an. The Western Zhou capitals Feng and Hao and the Qin capital Xianyang were nearby, and the Western Han, Sui and Tang all ruled from here, making it one of the capitals with the most dynasties and the longest history. Tang Chang'an was among the largest cities in the world of its time. The present city wall is Ming; north-east of the city are the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the Terracotta Army, and the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas in the city date from the Tang.

Luoyang

Seen as the “centre of the realm”. The Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, Cao Wei and Western Jin all had their capital at Luoyang; the Northern Wei moved here from Pingcheng (today's Datong); the Sui and Tang made it their eastern capital, and Empress Wu called it the “Divine Capital”. The Longmen Grottoes on the banks of the Yi River south of the city were begun around the time the Northern Wei moved to Luoyang; the White Horse Temple east of the city is traditionally said to be the first Buddhist temple in China.

Nanjing

Capital of the Wu of the Three Kingdoms, the Eastern Jin and the southern Song, Qi, Liang and Chen – together the “Six Dynasties” – under the names Jianye and Jiankang. The early Ming made Nanjing its capital, and most of the city wall it built still stands; the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum lies below Purple Mountain to the east. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Republic of China also had their capitals here.

Beijing

The Jin built their Central Capital here and the Yuan their Great Capital (Dadu); the Ming moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing under the Yongle Emperor, and the Qing kept it. The Ming and Qing palace, the Forbidden City, is the largest surviving complex of ancient palace buildings. Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China.

Kaifeng

Daliang, capital of the state of Wei in the Warring States period, stood here. The Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han and Later Zhou of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song all ruled from Kaifeng; under the Northern Song it was the Eastern Capital, and the painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival shows life along its Bian River. The Yellow River repeatedly burst its banks and changed course here, and layer after layer of silt buried the cities of successive dynasties one above another – “cities stacked on cities”.

Hangzhou

Capital of the Wuyue kingdom of the Five Dynasties. After the fall of the Northern Song, the Southern Song made Hangzhou its “temporary residence”, called Lin'an, until the end of the dynasty. West Lake, west of the city, is a World Heritage Site.

Anyang

Yin, the capital of the late Shang, lay north-west of today's Anyang; from King Pangeng's move to Yin until the fall of the Shang the capital stayed here. The site, Yinxu, has yielded large numbers of oracle-bone inscriptions, the earliest known systematic Chinese writing, and is a World Heritage Site.

Zhengzhou

The city contains the Zhengzhou Shang City, a large capital of the early Shang generally identified with Bo, the capital of King Tang; stretches of its rammed-earth walls still stand above ground. Zhengzhou was the last of the eight to be recognised.

More lists: Other lists.