Beijing (běi jīng 北京) is a world renowned city of history and culture. The Liao Dynasty (liáo dài 辽代) made Beijing its alternate capital since 938AD. Later, Beijing become the capital city of Jin Dyansty (jīn dài 金代), called Zhongdu (zhōng dū 中都), capital of the Yuan Dyansty (yuán cháo 元朝), known as Dadu (dà dū 大都), and capital of the Ming (míng cháo 明朝) and Qing Dyansty (qīng cháo 清朝). During early Republican period in 1910s it became the capital of Republic of China. In 1928, the capital was moved to Nanjing (nán jīng 南京) and Beijing renamed Beiping (běi píng 北平), a name that held until 1949. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Beijing was once again renamed Beijing, and designated the country’s capital.

                          
Xi’an (xī ‘ān 西安) is located in the middle of the 800-li Qinchuan (bā bǎi lǐ qín chuān 八百里秦川). It is bordered on the south by the Qingling Mountain Range (qín lǐng 秦岭), and on the north by the Weihe River (wèi hé 渭河), with a terrain sloping from the southeast to the northwest. There are many rivers in the city. Since ancient times, it is celebrated for“eight rivers flowing around Chang’an (cháng ān 长安, the old name for Xi’an in ancient times)".

            
Nanjing (nán jīng 南京) has a long history. The Six dynasties of the Wu (wú 吴), the Eastern Jin (dōng jìn 东晋), the Song (sòng cháo 宋朝), the Qi (qí 齐), the Liang (liáng 梁) and the Chen (chén 陈), chose Nanjing as their capital. Later on, the Southern Tang Dynasty (nán táng 南唐), the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (tài píng tiān guó 太平天国, 1852-1864AD) and the Republic of China also made Nanjing their capital. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Nanjing became the capital of Jiangsu Province and the largest comprehensive industrial city of this province.

Luoyang (luò yáng 洛阳) lies in the west of Hennan Province (hé nán shěng 河南省). Situated in the central plain, it is known as “the Gravity Center of China” and “the Hinterland of Nine Divisions (a poetic name for China)”. Named due to the location on the north side of the Luohe River (luò hé 洛河), Luoyang is one of the most important places of origin of the Huaxia civilization (huá xià wén míng 华夏文明).

Starting from the Xia Dynasty (xià cháo 夏朝), the first imperial dynasty in China, Luoyang severed as the capital for thirteen dynasties. It was the earliest capital city with the longest time of being capital in China’s history. During the Sui (suí cháo 隋朝) and Tang (táng cháo 唐朝) dynasties, with a population of more than one million, Luoyang was at that time the most prosperous city in the world.

Anyang (ān yáng 安阳) was designated as a capital as early as the 14th century BC, when the 20th king of the Shang Dynasty (shāng cháo 商朝), Pangeng (pán gēng 盘庚), moved the capital to Yin (yīn 殷), today’s Xiaotun village (xiǎo tún cūn 小屯村), Anyang City (ān yáng shì 安阳市), Henan province (hé nán shěng 河南省).

The rulers of the Shang Dynasty organized an immense construction there, and finally built Yin into a great capital in ancient China. After that, some other kingdoms in the Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River) also chose Anyang as the capital as well, but no further accomplishment with regard to city construction was made. This ancient city was reduced to ruins by countless wars. After the Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝), cultural and architectural relics of the Yin times were discovered from time to time, especially in several large-scale excavations after the founding of People’s Republic of China.