Beijing's history

Beijing is one of the four ancient cities of China (together with Xian, Luoyang, Nanjing), the best preserved, and famous around the world. Beijing is also known as a cradle of humanity. As early as 700,000 years ago,Peking Man lived in Zhoukoudian area of Beijing.

Beijing City was established over 3,000 years ago and was called Jin City in the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 771 BC). Ever since Emperor Qin united China in 221 BC, Beijing has played an important role in north China. It was the capital city in the Liao (916-1125), Jin (1115-1234), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. During these 800 years, 34 emperors lived and ruled here. The world renowned Forbidden City was built during this period. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, World War I broke out. Beijing became the focus of invaders. The war disrupted the society. Many residences of royal families were robbed and burned down. After that, the whole country was reduced to the status of semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. It wasn’t until October 1st, 1949 that the People’s Republic of China was founded. Beijing is known as the capital city of the prosperous new country which has flared into importance in Asia.

Here is a snapshot of the major events in Beijing's history:

Time	Used Name	Event
1045BC (Western Zhou)	Jin City	Pioneer city of China
226BC (Qin Dynasty)	Jin City	Emperor Qin attacked Jin successfully
581-618 (Sui Dynasty)	Zhuo Shire	Population over 130,000
618-907 (Tang Dynasty)	Youzhou	Military center and business center
916-1125 (Liao Dynasty)	Nanjing	As accompanying capital (now in Xicheng District)
1153 (Jin Dynasty)	Zhongdu	Occupied by a minority group in northeast China
1215 (Yuan Dynasty)	Yanjing	Occupied by Mongolia leader Genghis khan
1272 (Yuan Dynasty)	Dadu	As capital city of a united country for the first time
1368 (Ming Dynasty)	Beiping	Ming Dynasty established
1403 (Ming Dynasty)	Beijing	Emperor Yongle changed the name to Beijing
1406 (Ming Dynasty)	Beijing	Began to built Forbidden City
1421 (Ming Dynasty)	Beijing	Move to new site (now in Beijing City center)
1564 (Ming Dynasty)	Beijing	Central part of Beijing city now has formed
1644 (Qing Dynasty)	Beijing	Qing Dynasty established
1860 (Qing Dynasty)	Beijing	Yuanmingyuan was burnt down by invaders
1900 (Qing Dynasty)	Beijing	Eight-nation Allied Forces occupied Beijing
1912 (Qing Dynasty)	Beijing	Last emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate the crown
1937	Beijing	War of Resistance against Japan broke out
1945	Beiping	Civil war between two fictions broke out
1949	Beijing	The People’s Republic of China was founded