What is the Capital of China?
Beijing is the capital of China. Its history goes back over 3000 years. Beijing means “Northern Capital” in Chinese. It surrounded by a city wall until 1949. Now Beijing is one of the main industrial cities in China, the second in terms of the number of inhabitants after Shanghai. Political, educational and cultural center of China.
Visiting Beijing, you should definitely visit the “Forbidden City” – the former palace of Chinese emperors.
On the southern outskirts of Beijing is the Temple of Heaven – the largest altar complex in China.
One of the most popular holiday destinations among tourists and citizens is Tiananmen Square of Heavenly Peace.
It is difficult to imagine Beijing, as well as the whole of China, without the Great Wall of China – a symbol of an ancient civilization, which is 6300 km long.
To the northwest of the city center is the Summer Imperial Palace – Yiheyuan Park. The park area on which there are residential buildings, temples and pavilions, as well as an artificial lake.
Once in Beijing, be sure to try one of the most delicious and famous Chinese dishes – Peking duck.
Chinese Capitals Before Beijing
Beijing has been China’s capital for most of the past millennium, but with the country having a rich dynastic history dating back to around 2100 BCE, it’s hard to erase the equally glorious history of other Chinese cities as than ancient capitals. were once the capitals of imperial China or states during, for example, the Warring States period and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there is a “Six Ancient Capitals of China” recognized as the capital of China . So what were the five ancient capitals before Beijing?
Xi’an
The capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province was once the capital of 13 dynasties, including the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE). by Qin Shi Huang and Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-9) and Tang Dynasty (618-684 AD, 705-904 AD .), the two most prosperous periods in Chinese history. You probably can’t pronounce Xi’an correctly, but you must be familiar with the famous Terracotta Army built by Qin Shi Huang to guard his grand mausoleum in the city.
Luoyang
Luoyang is now a prefecture city of Henan Province in central China. Luogang seems to be highly honored by history buffs in Zhengzhou, the province’s current capital. Besides being the capital of nine dynasties, Luoyang, located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River, saw the origin of Chinese civilization and is considered the geographical center of China. Luoyang was also the starting point of the Silk Road when the diplomat Ban Chao of the Eastern Han Dynasty (32-102 CE) re-established the route.
Kaifeng
The “Jing” in “Beijing” means capital in Chinese, and while Beijing literally means “northern capital”, Kaifeng in Henan Province, once called “Dongjing” in the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127 CE), was the capital in the east. While the Song Dynasty emperors supported the arts and literature, and the fruitfulness of relevant inventions and tool revolutions, Kaifeng was the center of an era when Chinese art and literature developed most prosperously. . The remarkable painting.
Hangzhou
You’ve probably heard the famous phrase that describes Hangzhou: “Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below”. Hangzhou is known to tourists as a place with beautiful lake scenery and the birthplace of Jack Ma’s Alibaba, but it is also one of the six ancient capitals of China, being the capital of the Wuyue Kingdom during the period of the Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms. (907-978 CE) and the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1276 CE).
Nanjing
With a name that literally means “capital of the south”, Nanjing was the capital of China on and off for the last two millennia. The historic city was known as “the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties (220-589 CE)” even before the Tang Dynasty, maintaining its unshakable position as the capital during this time of instability and war. It was also the capital from 1927 to 1937 during the Republic of China period before the brutal Nanjing Massacre. You can still see traces of its history as the capital of various dynasties in Nanjing today, including the Ming Palace and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
