First information about Beijing in historical chronicles they date back to the 11th century. BC, when the historian Sima Qian in his “Historical Notes” writes: “The Zhou Wu Wang, having defeated the Yin ruler Zhou, granted Shao Gong lands in Northern Yan.”

The capital city of the Yan domain was the city of Ji, located in the southwestern part of modern Beijing. The famous name of Beijing is “Yanjing” which can be translated as “capital of Yan”.

History of Beijing during the Chinese Empire

After the conquest of the Yan Kingdom by the Qin Empire, the city of Ji became a provincial city on the northern borders of the state.

After the brief heyday of the Qin Empire, it was replaced by the Han Dynasty. Under the new dynasty, Beijing, or more precisely, the city of Ji becomes the capital of Yuzhou County.

After the invasion of the steppes, which destroyed the state of Jin, the city of Ji was part of various barbarian states.

In 386, the northern part of China was unified by the Northern Wei dynasty. Ji City becomes the county capital again. During the same period, it was called Yuzhou, like the entire district. IN history of Beijing This time became the heyday of the city.

During the wars with the Korean states, numerous canals were built and used to transport troops and supply them with food.

In 755, a rebellion led by An Lushan was launched in Youzhou, leading to civil war and the collapse of the unified state.

History of Beijing under the Liao and Jin dynasties

In 938, the ruler of the Liao dynasty, Yelu Yaogu, ordered the city of Yuzhou to be made the capital of his state. The official name of Yuzhou became Nanjing Yudfu. In 1012, the name of the city was changed to Nanjing Xijinfu.

In 1125, the Jurchen tribes defeated the Liao state and founded their own Jin dynasty. In 1151, the capital was moved to Nanjing and the city was simultaneously renamed Zhudu Dasnfu.

A dramatic event history of Beijing, the then Zhudu Dasnfu became the Mongol invasion.

The city of Zhongdu was heavily fortified, surrounded by a powerful fortress wall with 13 gates. However, these strong fortifications were unable to protect the city from Mongol troops, who completely destroyed the city.

Beijing under the Yuan and Ming dynasties

In 1264, the ruler of the Mongol state, which included China, decided to found the capital of his state near the ruins of Zhudu. After the construction was completed, the city was named Khanbalik, called Daidu in Chinese.

As a result of the anti-Mongol uprising, Zhu Yuanzhan comes to power, becoming the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. After Daidu is captured, the city becomes the capital of the new dynasty.

History of Beijing under the Qing Dynasty

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing was captured by Manchu troops, who established their rule. During this period, the city began to be called Gemun-hetsen in Manchu and Jingshi in Chinese.

Under the new rulers, the old layout of the city was preserved, and the lands outside the city walls were given ownership to high-ranking Manchus.

In 1827, a most important event occurred not only in history of Beijing, but also throughout China. This year, theater troupes from Anhui and Hubei provinces were invited to Beijing, which subsequently led to the appearance of the famous Peking Opera in 1854.

During the Second Opium War in 1860, the city was occupied by Anglo-French troops, and part of the palace complex was burned. After the signing of the peace treaty, a special Embassy Quarter was built southeast of the Forbidden City to house diplomatic residences.

History of Beijing during the Republic of China

After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the power of the Qing dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China was proclaimed. This revolution had a huge impact on further history of Beijing.

The overthrow of the Qing dynasty and the proclamation of a republic led to a difficult political situation that resulted in a civil war, also called the era of militarists. During this period, the country was divided between various military factions that were at war with each other.

However, the civil war did not prevent the city authorities from embarking on large-scale work to redevelop the city. Several large gardens were laid out on the grounds of old imperial gardens and temples.

The Kuomintang Party, having concentrated power in its hands, moved the capital of China to Nanjing.

During the Sino-Japanese conflict of 1937, the Japanese army attacked Beijing and captured the city almost instantly. The Japanese capture of Beijing was the beginning of a long war.

After capturing the city, the Japanese created a puppet government of the Republic of China. After the Japanese surrender, Beijing returned to Chinese control.

History of Beijing - the capital of communist China

After the Sino-Japanese War, in which the Kuomintang Party and the Communists were allies, the country began a civil war. Former allies have become bitter enemies.

On January 31, 1949, the communist People's Liberation Army entered Beijing. Soon the Kuomintang government fled to the island of Taiwan.

Having survived many upheavals, Beijing becomes the capital of the People's Republic of China.

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Beijing

Beijing is a majestic metropolis with the status of the capital of the People's Republic of China. Modern Beijing is a most interesting city in every sense with a long, eventful history. Over the course of 3,000 years, it became the political, educational and cultural center of the republic. The “Northern Capital” of the People's Republic of China surprises with its architectural diversity; along with glass high-rises, there are ancient cozy streets. Almost all dynasties of the Chinese Empire made Beijing the capital of their possessions. The layout of the city is made in the form of a square according to the precepts of ancient teachings to reflect the cosmic order. An imaginary line runs through the center of the city and divides it exactly in half into two sides, western and eastern. In particular, this line crosses the Imperial Palace. City buildings are built in a clear north-south or east-west orientation.

In 2008, Beijing hosted a world-significant event in the field of sports - the Summer Olympic Games. Hong Kong and Shanghai are not inferior to Beijing in beauty and size, but unlike the capital, they have the status of financial centers of China.

Origin of the city's name
Beijing, if the name is translated from Chinese, means “Northern Capital”. In East Asia there is a tradition, following which cities are named as accurately as possible so that the name reflects reality. Many other cities in China are named according to the same principle, for example Nanjing is the “Capital of the South”.

The metropolitan name “Beijing,” which is understandable and recognizable to us, is pronounced differently in the standard Chinese language, in particular, Beijing. In the 20th century, in English and many other languages, the city was called in its Chinese version and written as “Beijing”. In Russian, Portuguese, Dutch and some other languages, the Chinese capital is referred to as Beijing, that is, an outdated version. Even Peking University is called that in English.

The name Beijing, so familiar to Russian citizens, was invented by French missionaries more than 400 years ago.

Over the years of its existence, the capital has had many names. For example, in the 14th century, and then from 1928 to 1940. it was known as Beiping, meaning "Northern Calm". The renaming occurred due to the loss of Beijing's capital status and its transfer to Nanjing.

In 1949, the Communist Party came to power and returned the name Beijing (Beijing), returning the city to its functions as the center of the empire.

Another name for Beijing is 燕京 (Yanjing), that is, “Capital of Yan”, it originated in ancient times during the reign of the Zhou dynasty. Their empire was called the Yan Kingdom. Now this name was used for the name of local beer (Yanjing Beer), as well as the name of Yanjing University, which is part of Peking University.

The Mongolian Yuan dynasty called the city Khanbalik during its reign. In his notes, the wanderer Marco Polo mentioned the city as Cambuluc.

Territorial location
The city is located in the lowlands in the north of the North China Plain. Most of Beijing's territory is mountainous. The highest mountain is Donglin, its height is 2303 meters.

The main water sources of the city are the two rivers Yundinghe and Baihe. The Great Canal of China ends in Beijing and flows through the Great Chinese Plain. The capital's largest reservoir is Miyun, which occupies a key place in Beijing's water supply system.

The city is located on a fault in tectonic plates, so it is often subject to the destructive effects of earthquakes. The disaster manifested itself especially strongly in 1976, when the city of Tangshan, which is located next to Beijing, was destroyed.

Climatic features
Summer and spring in Beijing are the time of monsoon winds that blow here from different parts of the country. They have a significant impact on the weather conditions of the capital. Therefore, in the spring, the streets are shrouded in clouds of yellow acrid dust flying from the Gobi Desert. Summer is rainy due to southeast winds that blow from the ocean. During the summer, 600 mm of precipitation falls, while the total for the year is 610 mm. But showers do not prevent the summer from being hot (average +25°C). In winter, Beijing is cold (-10°C) and there is practically no snow. Autumn is the most fertile time of the year for Beijing; the weather is usually clear and a little cool, but overall very pleasant and favorable for walking.

Ethnic composition and population
Beijing is one of the three most populated cities after Shanghai and Chongqing. The city is home to almost 20 million people.

The majority of Beijing residents (95%) are ethnic Chinese (Han). The remaining 5% are Manchus, Huis and Mongols. There is also a small number of Tibetans living in the capital; the Tibetan Secondary School of the 2nd grade is open here for their children. There are always a lot of foreign citizens in Beijing. Most of them came here as representatives of foreign companies or students. In recent years, citizens from South Korea have been moving to the city en masse; they have already formed the country’s largest foreign diaspora here. They settle mainly in the Wudaokou and Wangjing areas.

Types of transport
All modern modes of transport are well developed in Beijing. The Capital Airport is located near Shunyi, 20 km from the city. Most domestic and international flights are served here. In fact, this is the main air gate of the PRC, through which Air China (the main airline of the country) operates its flights.
Four major railways pass through Beijing.

City residents use buses and, less commonly, trolleybuses as their main transport. Most of the city's transport consists of outdated models, but the schedule intervals on the routes are short and ticket prices are affordable. For trips outside the city, commuter buses are used.
The Beijing Metro opened in 1971, and since then it has been developing rapidly. Currently, the metro has 15 main lines and 6 additional lines, but their number is constantly growing and will soon reach 28. Line No. 1 runs from the suburb of Shijingshan to Beijing Station, which is located in the old “China City”, so the length of the line is 16 km . Line No. 2 (built in the 80s) will create a ring around the “Tatar City”.

Highways envelop the whole of Beijing with their routes, connecting it with all of China. The capital has ten expressways and 11 national highways, which continue beyond the city limits. There are also five auto rings here, but in shape they look like squares and rectangles, because this structure is typical for the “Northern Capital”. The streets go to all directions of the world. The problem of traffic jams in Beijing increases every year.

Most Beijing residents use bicycles to travel short distances.

History of development
People began to inhabit the territory of modern Beijing no later than 1027 BC. During this period, the country was ruled by the Zhou dynasty. Then the city of Ji appeared, which became the capital of the feudal-type state of Yan. During the coup d'etat, the Qin dynasty came to power, as a result of which Yan ceased to exist. But its advantageous territorial location enabled the city to occupy an important political place during the Ji Dynasty. The main trade routes passed through the city, through which merchants transported goods to Mongolia, Korea and Manchuria. There was also a fortress here that protected the interior of the state from attacks by enemies from the north. From this city, China at that time planned to expand its borders.

In 907, the reign of the Tang dynasty ended, and despotic conquerors from Manchuria came to power and ruled for more than three centuries. During this time, two dynasties, Liao and Jin, succeeded, and the city remained the capital of the province.

In 1271, the Jin Dynasty was overthrown by Kublai Khan of Mongolia, after which he moved the capital to the city of Yuan, renaming it Dadu. As a result, travelers from all over the world began to visit Beijing at that time (in particular, Marco Polo and other famous Europeans).

In 1367, Chinese troops captured Dada. The Ming dynasty of emperors came to power, renamed Dadu to Beiping (translated as “Calm North”) and moved the capital to Nanjing. The emperor's son, whose name was Yan, was appointed governor of the city. At the beginning of the 15th century, this young man staged a coup d'état and sat on the throne of the empire, after which he returned Beiping to capital status and renamed it Beijing (this is the name of Beijing we now know). This name is translated from Chinese as “Capital of the North”.

Since then, Beijing has not deprived him of his honorary title. An exception was the period from 1928 to 1949, when the Kuomintang government decided to make Nanjing the capital, arguing that the order of the 1st emperor of the Ming Dynasty must be carried out. As a result, Beijing was briefly renamed Beiping.

Already in the 20th century, Beijing became the center of state conflicts, the cornerstone of which was the different views of the empire and foreign states regarding forms of government and Western political views. Massive confrontations began, during which English and French troops invaded the city. The summer imperial palace was almost completely destroyed.

In 1900, foreign armies occupied Beijing, taking advantage of the Yihetuan Rebellion. In 1919, the anti-imperialist May 4th movement began in Beijing, and political movements intensified to rid the country of the constant interference of foreign domination. Adherents of communism also began their activities, seizing power through revolution 30 years later.

In 1937, the capital was captured by Japanese troops, staying there until 1945, after which they were forced to surrender to the Kuomintang.

Then in 1949, the Kuomintang army surrendered to the communist onslaught during a six-week siege. As a result, on October 1, 1949, stands were installed at Beijing's Tiananmen Gate, from which the creation of the People's Republic of China was announced.

The Communist Party ensured a stable future for the capital. But it did not become completely cloudless. Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, unwanted problems have arisen. In the 1980s, a crisis began due to a shortage of housing, congestion of transport and a lack of shops. Valuable agricultural lands were given over to construction and industrial development. The city's water supply was operating at maximum capacity, and the degree of air pollution increased so much that it began to threaten the life and health of Beijing residents.

Therefore, the Chinese government has introduced restrictive measures that prevent further growth of the capital.

Travel tips
Beijing has certain restrictions for visitors. If you do not comply with them, you risk being punished by local authorities.

It is strictly forbidden to take photos and videos in churches, monasteries and museums. We recommend that you refrain from photographing government institutions. The Criminal Code of the People's Republic of China provides for liability for persons who take photographs of passers-by without their permission or warning. This rule must be observed even in public places. Special signs are placed where filming is permitted.

It is prohibited to be on the territory of the station without having a travel ticket. The police are strictly monitoring this. To visit areas bordering Laos and Myanmar, you need to obtain an additional visa. Getting to Tibet is much more difficult due to the complicated visa regime.

The easiest way to visit Tibet is as part of a group that has a route drawn up in advance and approved by the authorities. It would be a good idea to have your hotel’s business card with you and some brief information about yourself written in Chinese.

Tipping is not officially allowed, but behind the scenes this custom is accepted in Beijing (5-10% of the cost of the service). If the price does not suit you, then do not hesitate to bargain, they love it here. But cunning sellers can deceive you. Control your bag with money, especially on narrow streets, where pickpockets often ply their trade.

Evidence that already 6-7 thousand years ago in these places people were engaged in agriculture.

The beginning of Chinese statehood

The first mentions of Beijing in historical chronicles are associated with the events of the 11th century BC. BC, when the Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty. Sima Qian in “Historical Notes” writes:

Shao Gong Shi was from the same family as the founder of the house of Zhou and bore the family surname Ji. The Zhou Wu-wan, having defeated the Yin ruler of Zhou, granted Shao-gun land in Northern Yan.

Modern historians interpret it this way: Shi was one of the representatives of the Zhou clan, a collateral relative of Wen Wang, and bore the title “Shao Kung.” Wu-wan allocated him an inheritance in the north of Zhou so that he would cover the central lands from barbarian raids. Since these lands were limited to the north by the Yanshan Mountains, after the name of the mountains the entire estate began to be called “Yan”.

In 304, the state of Jin was destroyed by the steppe people, who formed sixteen barbarian states in its place. During this period, the territory of modern Beijing was in turn part of the states of Early Qin, Later Zhao, Early Yan and Later Yan. Finally, in 386, northern China was united under the rule of the Northern Wei dynasty, and Ji regained its status as a district center. However, due to the fact that back in 370, Jizhou County was created on the territory of modern Tianjin (Ji County still exists there), the city of Ji, located on the site of modern Beijing, began to be called Yuzhou, like the entire district.

The Sui dynasty, which reunified China in 612, began a war with the Korean states. To deliver troops and food, Emperor Yangdi built a network of canals connecting Yuzhou with the North China Plain. These wars were continued by the Tang Dynasty that succeeded the Sui Dynasty; In memory of the victims of these wars, Emperor Taizong erected the Fayuan Temple 3 km southeast of Youzhou.

During the Tang Dynasty, the division of China into 10 provinces was introduced, so the status of the districts decreased. Initially, the Tang Empire had 358 counties, one of which was Yuzhou. In 742, Youzhou was briefly renamed a region Fanyang(Chinese: 范阳郡), however, already in 758 it regained its old name Youzhou. Beginning in 710, governor-generals began to be established in the border regions to protect against raids by nomads, headed by the Jedushi; Yuzhou became the headquarters of Fanyang Jedushi, which was supposed to protect the Tang Empire from si and Khitans. In 755, Yuzhou rebelled Jedushi An Lushan, the An Lushan rebellion became one of the largest armed conflicts in terms of the number of victims in the entire history of mankind. The ten-year rebellion seriously weakened the Tang dynasty, and opened the way for the Khitan to northern China, which ultimately led to the rise of Beijing.

After the collapse of the Tang Empire at the beginning of the 10th century, China began the era of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In the north of China at this time, dynasties replaced one another, ruling for only a few years. In 923, the Shatuo Turks founded the Later Tang Dynasty, which at the height of its power controlled almost all of Northern China. In 936, the military leader Shi Jingtang decided to revolt, and at the same time turned to the Khitans for help. The Khitan demanded territorial concessions for their help. When Shi Jingtang proclaimed the founding of the Later Jin dynasty, he was forced to hand over sixteen counties (including Yuzhou) to the Khitans for their support.

Liao and Jin dynasties

In 1125, the Khitans were driven out by the Jurchens, who founded their own state, Jin. After the Jin military leader Wangyang Liang killed Emperor Xizong and took the throne himself, in the fourth month of the third year of his reign, under the motto “Tiande” (1151), he issued an edict moving the capital from Shangjing to Nanjing. The city was renamed from “Nanjing” (“Southern Capital”) to “Zhongdu” (“Central Capital”), and its full official name became Zhongdu Daxingfu(Chinese: 中都大兴府). Thus, for the first time in its history, Beijing became the capital of a large empire.

Zhongdu was surrounded by a fortress wall with 13 gates (4 in the northern wall, and 3 in each of the others), the remains of which are still preserved in the Fengtai region. In 1198, the Lugouqiao stone bridge was built across the Yundinghe River.

In 1215, Zhongdu was taken by the troops of Genghis Khan. The Mongols completely destroyed the city.

Yuan Dynasty

Khanbalik Plan

For half a century, there were only ruins on the site of Zhongdu. In 1264, Kublai Khan decided to build his own capital near this place. Construction was supervised by architects Liu Bingzhong and Amir ad-Din. After its founding in 1271 by the Yuan Dynasty, the city became the new capital of the empire (Khubilai's former headquarters - Shangdu - received the status of "summer capital"). In Mongolian the city was called Khanbalyk(“City of Khan”), in Chinese - Daidu(“Great Capital”).

The new city was built northeast of the ruined Zhongdu, around the Gaoliang River, transformed into six "seas" (lakes): Houhai, Qianhai, Xihai (together known as Shichahai), Beihai, Zhonghai and Nanhai (together known as Zhongnanhai). To further improve the city's water supply, engineer Guo Shoujing built a network of canals, through which water from springs from the Yuquan Mountain located in the northwest through the Kunminghu Reservoir began to flow to Khanbalik. The extension of the Grand Canal allowed grain barges from the southern provinces to unload directly into the city center, which also contributed to population growth.

Ming Dynasty

The fortress walls of old Beijing

On the borders of the new empire, Zhu Yuanzhang began to create inheritances, which he distributed to members of the imperial clan, primarily to his sons. His fourth son, Zhu Di, received the inheritance with the capital in Beiping; his task was to protect Chinese lands from a possible attack by the Mongols from the north. Since Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son died during his lifetime, after the death of the emperor in 1402, the 16-year-old grandson inherited the throne, which did not please the living sons of Zhu Yuanzhang. During the fast-moving civil war, Zhu Di won, and in 1403 he became the new emperor. In 1421, he moved the capital of the empire from Nanjing to Beiping, and renamed the city Beijing(Chinese 北京, “Northern capital”, in Russian tradition reads as Beijing). It was under Zhu Di that such famous Beijing sites as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven were built. The transfer of the capital to the north forced the imperial authorities to pay more attention to the defense of the northern borders; that part of the Great Wall that runs through the territory of the central city of Beijing was mainly built during the Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the northern part of the former Khanbalyk was abandoned, and the city itself moved south. The northern wall of the new Inner City now ran 2.5 km south of the previous one, and the southern wall half a kilometer further south. These walls stood the test in 1449, when, as a result of the Tumu disaster, Emperor Zhu Qizhen was captured by the Oirats, and the Oirat leader Esen-taishi went on a campaign against the Chinese capital. The defense of the city was led by Minister Yu Qian, who, in response to Esen's demands, replied that the defense of the state was more important than the life of the captive emperor. Zhu Qiyu was installed on the throne, the new Chinese army defeated the Oirats, who were forced to leave. Three years later, Esen-taishi released Zhu Qizhen without any ransom, he returned to the throne and executed Yu Qian. Later, Yu Qian's house in the Dongdan district was turned into his funeral temple.

In 1813, a group of militants from the White Lotus Buddhist sect made a surprise attack on the Forbidden City. They were repulsed by the guards, but to control the population the authorities then introduced a system of mutual responsibility ( baojia).

Republic of China

Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening-up policies led to Beijing's explosive growth in the 1990s; New districts grew in the countryside surrounding the city. However, rapid modernization and sharp population growth have led to numerous problems: heavy traffic, environmental pollution, destruction of historical buildings, and a large number of migrants from villages. Air pollution led to the city's failure to win a bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games in 1993. In 2005, the city government tried to take control of the problems by allowing development of the city only in the eastern and western directions (the previous long-term plan provided for the development of the city in radial directions from the center in all directions). The efforts of the city authorities bore fruit, and

Beijing (in normative northern pronunciation - Beijing, Chinese 北京, pinyin Běijīng) literally means "Capital of the North", following a common East Asian tradition in which capital status is directly reflected in the name. Other cities named similarly are Nanjing in China (南京 - "Southern Capital"), Dongkinh (now Hanoi) in Vietnam, and Tokyo in Japan (with the same hieroglyphic spelling 東京 and the same meaning - "Eastern Capital"). The name of another Japanese city, Kyoto (京都) and the old name of Seoul, Gyeongseong (京城), simply mean “capital” or “capital city”.

The name Beijing does not actually correspond to modern Chinese pronunciation. In the official Putonghua dialect (which largely follows the Beijing phonetic norm), the city's name is pronounced Beijing. In English and some other languages ​​in the second half of the 20th century, the name of the city was brought into line with the real pronunciation and is usually written as Beijing. However, in Russian and in many languages ​​the old name is still used (for example, Port. Pequim, Dutch. Peking, etc.). The city was first named “Beijing” by French missionaries four hundred years ago, when the consonant shift had not yet occurred in the northern Chinese dialects, when almost all sounds were transformed into . In the southern dialects this shift did not occur, and, for example, in Cantonese the name of the capital of China is still pronounced "Bakgin".

Beijing has been known by different names in China throughout history. From 136 to 1405 and then from 1928 to 1949 it was called Beiping (Chinese: 北平, pinyin Beiping, literally "Northern Calm"). In both cases it was associated with the transfer of the capital from Beijing to Nanjing (first by the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the second - by the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China) and the loss of Beijing's capital status.

In 1949, after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party of China returned the name Beijing (Beijing), thereby emphasizing the return of the city's functions as a capital. The government of the Republic of China, which fled to Taiwan, never officially recognized the name change, and in the 1950s and 1960s in Taiwan, Beijing often continued to be called Peiping, indicating the illegitimacy of the PRC. However, today almost all Taiwanese, including Taiwanese authorities, use the name "Beijing", although some maps published in Taiwan still show the old name, as well as the pre-1949 administrative divisions of China.

The poetic name of Beijing - Yanjing (Chinese 燕京, pinyin Yānjīng, literally "Capital of Yan") goes back to the ancient times of the Zhou Dynasty, when the kingdom of Yan existed in these places. This name is reflected in the name of the local beer brand (Yanjing Beer) and in the name of Yanjing University (later incorporated into Peking University). During the Mongolian Yuan dynasty, the city was called Khanbalik, it can be found in the notes of Marco Polo in the spelling Cambuluc.

How old is Beijing? The city that arose on this site had many names, because its history spans more than one millennium:

Ji and Yanjing until 1153, then Zhongdu (Central Capital) until in 1215 the Great Mongol - the conqueror Chengiz Khan (one name is synonymous with cruelty and destruction for the whole world) - burns this ancient city to the ground (the fire raged for more than a month )
* When did Beijing become the capital of China? The beginning of the truly “metropolitan” history of the city is considered to be the time when a little to the north of the place where the former capital stood, burned by Chengiz Khan, a new one was built, with the proud name of Dadu (Chinese: Great Capital). It was also called Khanbalyk (Mongolian - City of Khan). According to the enthusiastic notes of the famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo, Europe can get to know the amazing city.

Anniri: “Beijing is believed to be the most rectangular city on Earth. The vicissitudes of fate: it is to these eternal enemies - the northern nomadic invaders - that the Chinese owe the simple and understandable structure of Beijing, which has survived to this day. All main streets run strictly from west to east and from north to south.
As it developed back in the 15th century, it has not changed: the center of Beijing is a square, divided into four districts (Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen and Xuanwu) also shaped like a square. In the very center of the square is the main square of the capital - Tiananmen and the Imperial Palace (also known as the Forbidden City of Gugung."
Ancient Beijing had the name Dadu until 1368. While the Mongol dynasty ruled, which modestly called itself Yuan (the source of the universe), but as a result of the fifteen-year People's Uprising, the hated dynasty of invaders was overthrown, its palaces were destroyed, and the former emperor shamefully fled to his Mongolian steppes, and the leader of the uprising became the new emperor. He decided: the capital of the revived nation cannot be a Mongolian city. And the founder of the new Ming dynasty moves the capital to the south (certainly everything there is Chinese!) to the city of Nanjing. And the former capital receives a symbolic name - Beiping - “Northern Calm”. After all, the Law was this: the capital could not bear the name of the capital. According to the status it is not allowed. But the year 1421 came, and another emperor returned the capital to its original place. They are changing the name of the city again. And the city of “Northern Calm” finally receives the world-famous name Beijing – i.e. “Northern Capital” The move of the entire court was thoroughly prepared: the construction of the Imperial Palace (Gugong) was completed and Beijing became the permanent residence of the Chinese emperors.

And here is a new powerful People's Uprising in the history of the city. Peasants have captured Beijing and are plundering the palace. The emperor who ruled at that time hanged himself. This is how the Ming dynasty began with the People's Uprising and ended with the People's Uprising. General Wu Sangui asks for help from the Manchus, who are strong in military affairs, and they help in suppressing the uprising. Only they didn’t want to go back “home”. They really liked Beijing. They declared their dynasty - the Qing. They did not move the capital. For what? And looking at the hill (opposite the Gugun Palace), where the last Ming emperor hanged himself, they only laughed contemptuously.
So, under the name Beijing, the city existed until 1928. And during the period of revolutionary unrest from 1928 to 1949, it again became NOT the capital (it is again in Nanjing), and in order not to cause confusion in people’s minds, it was again renamed “Northern Calm”
But in 1949, the capital returned to its old place and with a change in status, it is now Beijing. Coming from Russia, for example, from, it will be useful for you to visit the historical sights of the city to comprehend the rich culture of China.

It is impossible not to mention a very significant fact in the history of China: the Battle of Beijing in 1900, the battle at the city walls, the confrontation between the Chinese people and the Eight Power Alliance (USA, Russia and European countries). Moscow and China are historically connected by strong friendship and mutual support.

Well, one of the modern facts of the history of the capital of China is that it was successfully carried out in 2008.