Chinese Dynasties and Their Capital Cities

The Chinese phrase Four Great Ancient Capitals of China traditionally refers to Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang, and Chang'an (Xi'an).

After the 1930s as more discoveries were made, other historical capitals were added to the list. The later phrase Seven Ancient Capitals of China included Kaifeng (added in the 1920s as the fifth ancient capital), Hangzhou (the sixth, added in the 1930s), and Anyang (after a proposal by archaeologists in 1988, it became the seventh ancient capital). In 2004, the China Ancient Capital Society officially added Zhengzhou as an eighth, thanks to archaeological finds there.

Below are the full list of Chinese dynasties in history and their capitals:

Xia (21st-16th century B.C.)
- Yuncheng 运城, in Shanxi Province
- Erlitou 二里头, in Henan Province

Shang (16th century-1066 B.C.)
- Aodu 奥都, at modern Zhengzhou in Henan Province
- Yin 殷, near modern Anyang

Western Zhou (1066-771 B.C.)
- Zongzhou 宗周 (Hao), near Xi'an in Shaanxi Province

Eastern Zhou (770-256 B.C.)
- Chengzhou 成周, at modern Luoyang

Warring States (475-221 B.C.)
- Various

Qin (221-206 B.C.)
- Xianyang 咸阳, in Shaanxi Province

Western Han (206 B.C.-A.D.220)
- Chang'an 长安, at modern Xi'an in Shaanxi Province

Eastern Han (A.D. 25-220)
- Luoyang 洛阳, in Henan Province

Three Kingdoms:
Wei (A.D. 220-265)
- Luoyang 洛阳, in Henan Province
Shu (A.D. 221-263)
- Chengdu 成都, in Sichuan Province
Wu (A.D. 222-280)
- Jianye 建业, at modern Nanjing in Jiangsu Province

Western Jin (A.D. 265-316)
- Luoyang 洛阳, in Henan Province
- Chang'an 长安, at modern Xi'an in Shaanxi Province

Eastern Jin (A.D. 317-420)
- Jiankang 建康, at modern Nanjing in Jiangsu Province

Sixteen States (A.D. 304-439)
- Various

Southern Dynasties (A.D. 420-589)
- Jiankang 建康, at modern Nanjing in Jiangsu Province

Northern Dynasties (A.D. 386-581)
- Datong 大同, in Shanxi Province
- Luoyang 洛阳, in Henan Province
- Chang'an 长安, at modern Xi'an in Shaanxi Province
- Linzhang 临漳, in Hebei Province

Sui (A.D. 581-618)
- Chang'an 长安, at modern Xi'an in Shaanxi Province

Tang (A.D. 618-907)
- Chang'an 长安, at modern Xi'an in Shaanxi Province

Five Dynasties (A.D. 907-960)
- Kaifeng 开封, in Henan Province

Northern Song (A.D. 960-1279)
- Kaifeng 开封, in Henan Province

Southern Song (A.D. 1127-1279)
- Lin'an 临安, at modern Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province

Liao (Khitan) (A.D. 916-1125)
- Linhuang 临潢, in Inner Mongolia

Western Xia (A.D. 1038-1227)
- Xingqing 兴庆, at modern Yinchuan in Ningxia Province

Jin (A.D. 1115-1234)
- Daxing 大兴, at modern Beijing

Yuan (A.D. 1271-1368)
- Dadu 大都, at modern Beijing

Ming (A.D. 1368-1644)
- Nanjing 南京, in Jiangsu Province
- Beijing 北京, at modern Beijing

Qing (A.D. 1644-1911)
- Shenyang 沈阳 (Mukden), in Liaoning Province
- Beiping 北平, at modern Beijing