Ancient Capital of Eight Dynasties
1 min readThe city of Beijing has a long and rich history that dates back over 3，000 years.Prior to the unification of China by the First Emperor in 221BC，Beijing was for centuries the capital of the ancient states of Jiand Yan.
During the first millennia of imperial rule，Beijing was a provincial city in northern China.Its stature grew from the 10th to the 13th centuries when the nomadic Khitan and Jurchen peoples from the steppes expanded southward and made the city a capital of their dynasties，the Liao and Jin.
When Kublai Khan made Dadu the capitalof the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty（1271-1368），all of China was ruled from Beijing for the first time.From 1271 onward，with the exception of two interludes from 1368 to 1421 and 1928 to 1949，Beijing remained as China’s capital，serving as the seat of power for the Ming Dynasty（1421-1644），the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty（1644-1912），the early Republic of China（1912-1928）and now the People’s Republic of China（1949-present）.
