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Beijing (bei means north and jing means capital), a world famous ancient city and young metropolis, the capital city of the People's Republic of China, is the seat of power for the most populous and fastest developing country in the world. Chinese call their capital Jing for short, and the name Peking, dating from a time before the standardization of the Chinese language, is still used in many languages around the world.

Beijing has a long history, tied to the history of its name. Archeological findings show that Peking Man, dated 500,000 years ago, lived for a very long time in Zhoukoudian, a cave system in Beijing Municipality. From the warring states period (473 – 221 BC), Beijing was the capital of Yan State and was called Ji. In the Liao Dynasty (938) it was named Nanjing (Southern Capital). It was changed to Zhongdu (Central Capital) in 1153, when it became the capital of the Jin Dynasty. In 1283, Beijing became the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty and was called Dadu (Great Capital) by its Mongol rulers. In 1368 the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Mongols and called Beijing Beiping (Northern Peace). From 1421 it was known as Jingshi (Model Capital) and when the Qing Dynasty captured Beijing in 1644, it continued with that name. During the Republican Era the capital was called Beijing in 1911, then Nanjing became the capital of China briefly in 1928, and Beijing reverted to the name Beiping. When Mao began the Era of the People’s Republic in 1949, Beijing was set in its current position (with its current name) as national capital (shoudu). Read More