Zhongdu

Zhongdu (Chinese: 中都; lit. 'Middle Capital'), also called Daxing City (Chinese: 大興城), was a capital city of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) of China, located in modern-day Beijing, in the southwestern part of Xicheng District. It served as the Jin capital from 1153 to 1214.

By the late 12th century the city had a population of nearly one million,^[1] and was the last and largest city built in that location prior to the Yuan dynasty.^[2]

Map showing the evolution of the walls of Beijing from the Liao to the Qing dynasties (916–1912)

Zhongdu was destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1215 during its conquest of the Jin dynasty. After the Yuan dynasty was established, Kublai Khan ordered the construction of the Yuan capital Dadu (Khanbaliq) to the northeast of Zhongdu.

Among the various capital cities situated on the site of modern-day Beijing, including the Liao dynasty's Nanjing, the Jin dynasty's Zhongdu, the Yuan dynasty's Dadu, and the Ming and Qing dynasties' Beijing, Zhongdu was the second smallest, measuring around 3 to 4 miles across.^[3]

See also

• History of Beijing
• Nanjing (Liao dynasty)
• Khanbaliq