View source for History of Beijing

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{{Hatnote|For changes to the English spelling of the city's name, see [[Names of Beijing]]. For other administrative divisions called Beijing in [[History of China|Chinese history]], see [[Beijing (disambiguation)]] and the [[History of the administrative divisions of China (disambiguation)|History of the administrative divisions of China]]}}
{{very long|words=21,000|date=August 2016}}
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left:1em;"
|+ Historical [[Names of Beijing]]
! Year
! Name
! style="width: 100px;"|Dynasty
! Notes
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|{{circa}} 11th century BC
|rowspan=5|[[Jicheng (Beijing)|City of Ji]] 蓟城
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Ji (state in modern Beijing)|State of Ji]]<br/>([[Zhou dynasty]])
|{{refn|group=Note|The City of Ji was the capital of the States of [[Ji (state in modern Beijing)|Ji]] and [[Yan (state)|Yan]].}}
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|{{circa}} 7th century BC
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Yan (state)|State of Yan]]<br/>([[Zhou dynasty]], [[Warring States period|Warring States]])
|
|-
|221 BC
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Qin dynasty|Qin]]
|{{refn|group=Note|During the [[Qin dynasty]], the City of Ji served as the regional capital of the [[Guangyang Commandery]].<ref>[http://english.bjww.gov.cn/2006/7-19/181216.shtml "Ji, a Northern City of Military Importance in the Qin Dynasty" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825043450/http://english.bjww.gov.cn/2006/7-19/181216.shtml |date=2012-08-25 }} 2006-07-19</ref><ref>(Chinese)[http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/132224.html "北方军事重镇-汉唐经略东北的基地-秦王朝北方的燕蓟重镇" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903011926/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/132224.html |date=2011-09-03 }} Accessed 2012-12-17</ref>}}
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|206 BC
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Zang Tu|State of Yan]]
|{{refn|group=Note|One of the [[Eighteen Kingdoms]] during the wars of [[Chu–Han Contention]].}}
|-
|202 BC
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Han dynasty|Han]]
|
|-
|106 BC - <br/> 318 AD
|rowspan=7|[[Jicheng (Beijing)|City of Ji]]<br/>[[Youzhou]] 幽州
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Han dynasty|Han]], [[Cao Wei|Wei]], [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Western Jin (晋)]]
|{{refn|group=Note|During the [[Eastern Han dynasty]], Youzhou, as one of 12 prefectures, contained a dozen subordinate commanderies, including the Guangyang Commandery. In 24 AD, [[Liu Xiu]] moved Youzhou's prefectural seat from Ji County (in modern-day Tianjin) to the City of Ji (in modern-day Beijing). In 96 AD, the City of Ji served as the seat of both the Guangyang Commandery and Youzhou.<ref name="BJWW-EasternHan">(Chinese)[http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/131820.html "北方军事重镇-汉唐经略东北的基地-东汉时期的幽州蓟城" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233619/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/131820.html |date=2013-12-30 }} 2005-09-01</ref> The [[Cao Wei|Wei Kingdom]] reorganized and decentralized the governance of commanderies under Youzhou. Guangyang Commandery became the [[Yan Kingdom (Han dynasty)|State of Yan]], which had four counties: Ji County, Changping, Jundu and Guangyang County, and was governed from the City of Ji. Fanyang Commandery was governed from Zhuo County. Yuyang Commandery was governed from Yuyuang (in modern-day [[Huairou District]] of Beijing), [[Shanggu Commandery]] was governed from Juyong (in modern-day [[Yanqing County]] of Beijing).<ref name="BJWW-WeiKingdom">(Chinese)[http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/131628.html "北方军事重镇-汉唐经略东北的基地-民族大融合的魏晋十六国北朝时期" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234018/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/131628.html |date=2013-12-30 }} 2005-09-01</ref>}}
|-
|319
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Later Zhao]]
|{{refn|group=Note|In 319, [[Shi Le]] captured Youzhou from Duan Pidi}}
|-
|350
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Eastern Jin|Eastern Jin (晋)]]
|{{refn|group=Note|In 350, Murong Jun captured Youzhou in the name of restoring northern China to Jin rule.}}
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|352–57
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Former Yan]]
|{{refn|group=Note|From 352 to 357, the [[Former Yan]] made the City of Ji its capital.<ref name="Difangzhi">(Chinese) [http://www.oldbj.com/html-293/ "北京城市行政区划述略" 《北京地方志》] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218150250/http://www.oldbj.com/html-293/ |date=2022-02-18 }} Accessed 2012-12-19</ref>}}
|-
|370
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Former Qin]]
|{{refn|group=Note|In 319, [[Shi Le]] captured Youzhou from Duan Pidi}}
|-
|385
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Later Yan]]
|{{refn|group=Note|In the second lunar month of 385, Murong Chui seized Youzhou from Former Qin.<ref>(Chinese) [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8F9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 郗志群, 歷史北京] p. 36</ref>}}
|-
|397
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Northern Dynasties]]
|{{refn|group=Note|In 397 AD, the [[Northern Wei]] captured Ji from the [[Later Yan]] and went on to establish the first of the [[Northern Dynasties]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.btcbd.com/Culture/2009/2675.html 北魏太和造像] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218150251/http://www.btcbd.com/Culture/2009/2675.html |date=2022-02-18 }} 2009-01-11</ref>}}
|-
|607
|[[Jicheng (Beijing)|City of Ji]]
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Sui dynasty|Sui]]
|{{refn|group=Note|During the [[Sui dynasty]], Youzhou became Zhuojun or Zhuo Commandery.<ref name="BJWW-Sui">(Chinese)[http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/131351.html "北方军事重镇-汉唐经略东北的基地-隋朝统治下的北京" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001515/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/131351.html |date=2013-12-31 }} 2005-09-01</ref>}}
|-
|616
|[[Youzhou]]
|rowspan=4 style="text-align: center;"|[[Tang dynasty|Tang]]
|rowspan=4|{{refn|group=Note|During the [[Tang dynasty]], the seat of the government of Youzhou remained in place but took on slightly different names. In 616, the government was called Youzhou Zongguanfu (幽州总管府); in 622, Youzhou Dazongguanfu (幽州大总管府); in 624, Youzhou Dadudufu (幽州大都督府) and in 626, Youzhou Dudufu (幽州都督府). From 710, the head of the government in Youzhou became a '' [[jiedushi]]'', a military regional commander. In 742, Youzhou was renamed Fanyang Commandery (范阳郡). In 759, during the [[An-Shi Rebellion]], [[Shi Siming]] declared himself emperor of the [[Yan (An-Shi)|Great Yan dynasty]] and made Fanyang, Yanjing or "the Yan Capital." After the rebellion was suppressed, the seat of government became Youzhou Lulong Dudufu (幽州卢龙都督府).<ref name="BJWW-Tang">(Chinese) [http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-23/95411.html 试论北京唐代墓志的地方特色" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232432/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-23/95411.html |date=2013-12-30 }} 2005-09-01</ref>}}
|-
|742
|[[Fanyang]] 范阳 <br/>[[Youzhou]]
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|759
|[[Yanjing]] 燕京
|-
|765
|rowspan=4|[[Youzhou]]
|-
|907
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Later Liang (Five Dynasties)|Later Liang]]
|rowspan=2|
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|911-13
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Yan (Five Dynasties period)|Yan (Five Dynasties)]]
|-
|913
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Later Liang (Five Dynasties)|Later Liang]], [[Later Tang]], [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]] (后晋)
|
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|938
|rowspan=2|[[Liao Nanjing|Nanjing]] 南京
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Liao dynasty|Liao]]
|{{refn|group=Note|The seat of government in Nanjing was known as Youdufu (幽都府) until 1012, when the name was changed to Xijinfu (析津府).}}
|-
|rowspan=2; style="background:#FFD350;"|1122
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Northern Liao]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Yanjing]]
|rowspan=2; style="text-align: center;"|[[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin (金)]]
|rowspan=2|
|-
|1122
|-
|1123
|Yanshan 燕山
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Song dynasty|Song]]
|
|-
|1125
|[[Yanjing]]
|rowspan=2 style="text-align: center;"|[[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin (金)]]
|
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|1151
|[[Zhongdu]] 中都
|{{refn|group=Note|After 1151, the capital of the Jin dynasty from Shangjing to Yanjing, which was renamed Zhongdu. Zhongdu refers to the Zhongdulu (中都路), an administrative unit which governed about 12 surrounding prefectures and 39 counties. The governing seat of Zhongdulu was Daxingfu (大兴府).<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/125633.html "北半部中国的政治中心-金中都的建立" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232612/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/125633.html |date=2013-12-30 }} 2005-09-01</ref>}}
|-
|1215
|[[Yanjing]]
|rowspan=2 style="text-align: center;"|[[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]]
|
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|1271
|Dadu ([[Khanbaliq]])<br/> 大都
|
|-
|1368
|[[Beiping]] 北平
|rowspan=3 style="text-align: center;"|[[Ming dynasty|Ming]]
|rowspan=3|{{refn|group=Note|The seat of government in Beiping, later Beijing, was called Shuntianfu (顺天府).}}
|-
|1403
|rowspan=4|[[Beijing]] 北京
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|1420
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|1644
|style="text-align: center;"|[[Qing dynasty|Qing]]
|
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|1912
|rowspan=4 style="text-align: center;"|[[Republic of China (1912-1949)|Republic of China]]
|
|-
|1928
|[[Beiping]]
|
|-
|1937–40
|''[[Beijing]]''
|rowspan=2|{{refn|group=Note|From 1937 to 1940, the city was renamed Beijing by the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1937–1940)|Provisional Government of the Republic of China]], a puppet regime backed by the Japanese occupation. The city's name reverted to Beiping after the defeat of Japan in World War II.}}
|-
|1945
|[[Beiping]]
|-
|style="background:#FFD350;"|1949–present
|[[Beijing]]
|style="text-align: center;"|[[People's Republic of China]]
|
|-
|colspan=4|{{Color box|#FFD350|border=darkgray}} Capital of polity
|}
The city of [[Beijing]] has a long and rich history that dates back over 3,000 years.<ref>{{cite book|author=Steve Luck|title=Oxford's American Desk Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Oxford University Press US]]|page=89|isbn=0-19-521465-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o8MdoOd6pOcC&q=The+American+desk+encyclopedia|quote=A settlement since c. 1000 BC, Beijing served as China's capital from 1421 to 1911.|date=1998-10-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Asian city: processes of development, characteristics, and planning|author=Ashok K. Dutt|isbn=0-7923-3135-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjASWo54WKgC&q=The+Asian+city:+processes+of+development,+characteristics,+and+planning|publisher=[[Springer (publisher)|Springer]]|page=41|quote=Beijing is the quintessential example of traditional Chinese city. Beijing's earliest period of recorded settlement dates back to about 1045 BC.|year=1994}}</ref>

Prior to the unification of China by the [[Qin Shi Huang|First Emperor]] in 221 BC, Beijing had been for centuries the capital of the ancient states of [[Ji (state in modern Beijing)|Ji]] and [[Yan (state)|Yan]]. It was a provincial center in the earliest unified empires of China, [[Qin dynasty|Qin]] and [[Han dynasty|Han]]. The northern border of ancient China ran close to the present city of Beijing, and northern nomadic tribes frequently broke in from across the border. Thus, the area that was to become Beijing emerged as an important strategic and a local political centre.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Britannica Guide to Modern China: A Comprehensive Introduction to the World's New Economic Giant |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Beijing/History |website=Britannica}}</ref> During the first millennia of [[History of China#Imperial China|imperial rule]], Beijing was a provincial city in [[North China|northern China]]. Its stature grew in the 10th to the 13th centuries when the nomadic [[Khitan people|Khitan]] and forest-dwelling [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]] peoples from beyond the [[Great Wall]] expanded southward and made the city a capital of their dynasties, the [[Liao dynasty|Liao]] and [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]]. When [[Kublai Khan]] made [[Khanbaliq|Dadu]] the capital of the [[Mongol]]-led [[Yuan dynasty]] (1279–1368), all of China was ruled from Beijing for the first time. From 1279 onward, with the exception of two interludes from 1368 to 1420 and 1928 to 1949, Beijing would remain as [[Historical capitals of China|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 (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] (1912–1928) and now the [[People's Republic of China]] (1949–present).

==Prehistory==
The earliest remains of [[hominid]] habitation in [[List of administrative divisions of Beijing|Beijing Municipality]] were found in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill near the village of [[Zhoukoudian]] in [[Fangshan District]], where the ''[[Homo erectus]]'' [[Peking Man]] (previously classified as the now-invalid species ''Sinanthropus pekinensis'') lived from 770,000 to 230,000 years ago.<ref>"Zhoukoudian" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> [[List of Paleolithic sites in China|Paleolithic]] ''[[homo sapiens]]'' also lived in the caves from about 27,000 to 10,000 years ago.<ref>[http://www.unesco.org/ext/field/beijing/whc/pkm-site.htm The Peking Man World Heritage Site at Zhoukoudian]</ref>
{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header = [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] of Beijing
 | footer = The Upper Cave on Dragon Bone Hill in [[Zhoukoudian]] where remains of the [[Peking Man]] were found.
 | image1 = Zhoukoudian Upper Cave.jpg
 | width1 = 200
 | caption1 =
 | image2 =
 | width2 = 112
 | caption2 =
}}
In 1996, over 2,000 [[Stone Age]] tools and bone fragments were discovered at a construction site at [[Wangfujing]] in the heart of downtown Beijing in [[Dongcheng District, Beijing|Dongcheng District]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.zgnybwg.com.cn/cme/2006/b/museums/bwg10.htm "北京王府井古人类文化遗址博物馆"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085016/http://www.zgnybwg.com.cn/cme/2006/b/museums/bwg10.htm |date=2016-03-04 }} Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011</ref> The artifacts date to 24,000 to 25,000 years ago and are preserved in the Wangfujing Paleolithic Museum in the lower level of the New Oriental Plaza mall.

Archaeologists have discovered over 40 [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|neolithic]] settlements and burial sites throughout the municipality. The most notable include Zhuannian of [[Huairou District]]; Donghulin of [[Mentougou District]]; Shangzhai and Beiniantou of [[Pinggu District]]; Zhenjiangying of Fangshan; and Xueshan of [[Changping District]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/13318.html 北京历史的开端-原始聚落的产生和发展 Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001735/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2005/8-4/13318.html |date=2013-12-31 }} 200-09-01</ref><ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 41–42</ref> These sites indicate that farming was widespread in the area 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Painted pottery and carved jade of the Shangzhai and Xueshan Cultures resemble those of the [[Hongshan Culture]] further to the north.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Kwang Chih Chang|author2=Pingfang Xu|title=The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year=2005|pages=54–55|isbn=0300093829|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sP-PN2StH2cC&q=%22hongshan+culture%22+xueshan|access-date=2013-03-22}}</ref>

==Pre-imperial history==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; float:right; clear:right; margin-left:1em;"
|-
!The [[List of administrative divisions of Beijing|Districts and Counties of Beijing Municipality]]
|-
|<div style="position: relative; font-size:80%">
[[File:ColorBeijingMapNew.png|350px|link=]]
</div>
|-
|
*{{Color box|#FFD350|border=darkgray}} Old city inside the [[2nd Ring Road]]
*{{Color box|#EAA397|border=darkgray}} Urban districts between the 2nd & [[5th Ring Road]]
*{{Color box|#979FEA|border=darkgray}} Inner suburbs linked by the [[6th Ring Road]]
*{{Color box|#97EAA5|border=darkgray}} Outer suburbs and rural areas.
|}
The earliest events of Beijing's history are shrouded in [[Chinese mythology|legend and myth]]. The epic [[Battle of Banquan]], which according to [[Sima Qian]]'s ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', occurred in the 26th century BC, may have taken place near the Upper and Lower Banquan Villages of [[Yanqing County]] on the northwestern edge of Beijing Municipality.<ref name=Yuzishan/>{{refn|group=Note|Other commonly cited locations for the Battle of Banquan are [[Zhuolu County|Zhuolu]], [[Hebei Province]] and [[Yucheng, Shanxi|Yucheng]] in [[Shanxi Province]].}} The triumph of the [[Yellow Emperor]] over the [[Yan Emperor]] at Banquan united [[Yanhuang|the two Emperors' tribes]] and gave rise to the ''[[Huaxia]]'' or Chinese nation, which then defeated [[Chiyou]] and the Nine Li tribes in the [[Battle of Zhuolu]], possibly at [[Zhuolu County|Zhuolu]], {{convert|75|km|abbr=on}} west of Yanqing in [[Hebei Province]].<ref name=Yuzishan/><ref name=Guoxuewang>{{cite web |url=http://www.guoxue.com/wk/000117.htm |script-title=zh:六朝古都——北京历史名称知多少 |website=guoxue.com |date=2008-08-04}}</ref> This victory opened [[North China]] to settlement by the [[Descendants of Yan and Yellow Emperor|descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors]].

The Yellow Emperor is said to have founded the settlement of '''Youling''' ({{lang|zh|幽陵}}) in or near Zhuolu.<ref name=Guoxuewang/> The sage-king [[Emperor Yao|Yao]] founded a town called '''Youdu''' ({{lang|zh|幽都}}) in the Hebei-Beijing region about 4,000 years ago.<ref name=Guoxuewang/> '''You''' ({{lang|zh|幽}}) or '''[[Youzhou]]''' ({{lang|zh|幽州}}) later became one of the historical names for Beijing. Yuzishan, in Shandongzhuang Village of [[Pinggu County]], in the northeastern fringe of Beijing Municipality, is one of several places in China claiming to host the Yellow Emperor's Tomb.{{refn|group=Note|Although the [[Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor|Huangdi Mausoleum]] in [[Shaanxi Province]] is more famous, a study by the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences and the [[National Museum of China|National History Museum]] in 1992 concluded that Yuzishan was likely to be the true location of the tomb.<ref name=Yuzishan>{{cite web |url=http://www.51766.com/zhinan/11021/1102194441.html |script-title=zh:渔子山黄帝陵：黄帝在北京的古迹 |website=51766.com. |date=2011-01-12 |access-date=2013-03-30 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410041344/http://www.51766.com/zhinan/11021/1102194441.html |archive-date=2013-04-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} Yuzishan's association with Yellow Emperor dates back at least 1,300 years when [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] poets [[Chen Zi'ang]] and [[Li Bai]] mentioned the tomb in their poems about Youzhou.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.confucianism.com.cn/html/keji/18028259.html |script-title=zh:探访平谷轩辕黄帝庙:4000多年前黄帝或到过平谷 |work=[[Beijing Evening News]] |date=2012-09-13 |access-date=2013-03-30 |archive-date=2013-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412105656/http://confucianism.com.cn/html/keji/18028259.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The first event in Beijing's history with archaeological support dates to the 11th century BC when the [[Zhou dynasty]] absorbed the [[Shang dynasty]]. According to [[Sima Qian]], [[King Wu of Zhou]], in the 11th year of his reign, deposed the [[King Zhou of Shang|last Shang king]] and conferred titles to nobles within his domain including the rulers of the city states '''[[State of Ji|Ji]]''' ({{lang|zh-hant|薊}}) and '''[[State of Yan|Yan]]''' ({{lang|zh|燕}}).<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 38</ref> According to [[Confucius]], King Wu of Zhou was so eager to establish his legitimacy that before dismounting his chariot, he named the descendants of the Yellow Emperor as the rulers of Ji.<ref>The ''[[Book of Rites]]'' ({{lang|zh-hans|《礼记•乐记》}})</ref> He then named his kinsman, [[Duke of Shao|Shi, the Duke of Shao]], as the vassal of Yan. Shi was preoccupied with other matters and dispatched his eldest son to take the position. This son, Ke, is considered the founder of the [[ancient Chinese states|state]] of [[state of Yan|Yan]]. Bronzeware inscriptions have confirmed these events described in Sima Qian's history. Although the dates in Sima Qian's history before 841 BC [[Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project#Background|have not yet been definitely matched]] to the [[Gregorian Calendar]], the Beijing Government uses 1045{{nbsp}}BC as the official estimate of the date of this occasion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitbeijing.com.cn/jdjq/jdjqtj/msgj/128760.html |script-title=zh:蓟城纪念柱 |website=visitbeijing.com.cn}} {{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

It is believed that the seat of Ji, called the '''[[Jicheng (Beijing)|City of Ji]]''' or '''[[Jicheng (Beijing)|Jicheng]]''' ({{lang|zh-hant|薊城}}), was located in the southwestern part of present-day urban Beijing, just south of [[Guang'anmen]] in [[Xicheng District|Xicheng]] and [[Fengtai District]]s.<ref name="Shangdu">{{cite web |url=http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj2.htm |script-title=zh:走进燕国 - 燕都遗迹 - 上都——蓟城" |website=yanduyizhi.com |date=2012-12-13 |access-date=2012-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411032206/http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj2.htm |archive-date=2016-04-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Several historical accounts mention a "Hill of Ji" northwest of the city, which would correspond to the large mound at the [[Baiyun Abbey|White Cloud Abbey]] outside Xibianmen, about {{convert|4|km|abbr=on}} north of Guang'anmen.{{refn|group=Note|In 284 BC, the victorious Yan general [[Yue Yi]], having conquered 70 cities of neighboring [[Qi (state)|Qi]], wrote to Duke of Yan to report that he had enough booty to fill two palaces and planned to bring home a new tree species to plant on the Hill of Ji, north of the city.}} South and west of Guang'anmen, roof tiles used for palace construction and dense concentrations of wells lined with ceramic ring tiles have been discovered.<ref name="Shangdu"/>
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1 = W Zhou Yan helmet.JPG
 | width1 = 160
 | caption1 = For several centuries before the unification of China in 221 BC, Beijing was the capital of [[Yan (state)|the State of Yan]]. Bronze Yan helmet (''above''), sword-shaped Yan coins (''right''), and the Gefujia ''yun'' (''far right''), all from the [[Capital Museum]].
| image2 = Yan State Coins.jpg
 | width2 = 160
 | caption2 =
 | image3 = Gefujia Yan Steamer.jpg
 | width3 = 115
 | caption3 = This bronze vessel used for steaming was unearthed from the Liulihe site in [[Fangshan District]].
}}
The capital of Yan was located about {{convert|45|km|abbr=on}} to the south of Ji, in the village of Dongjialin in Liulihe Township of Fangshan District, where a large walled settlement and over 200 tombs of nobility have been unearthed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/15/content_33534.htm |title=Liulihe Site |access-date=2011-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925223423/http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/15/content_33534.htm |archive-date=2012-09-25 }} "Liulihe Site"</ref> Among the most significant artifacts from the [[Liulihe Site]] is the three-legged bronze '' Jin [[ding (vessel)|Ding]]'' whose inscriptions recount the journey of Jin, who was sent by Ji Ke to deliver a batch of food and drink to his father, Ji Shi, in the Zhou capital.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 38–39</ref> The father was thrilled and awarded Jin [[Cowry|cowry shells]] to pay for the creation of an honorific ''ding'' to remember the event. The inscription thus confirms the appointment of King Zhou's kin to Yan and the location of Yan's capital.

Both Yan and Ji were situated along an important north–south trade route along the eastern flank of the [[Taihang Mountains]] from the [[Central Plain (China)|Central Plain]] to the northern steppes. Ji, located just north of the [[Yongding River]], was a convenient rest stop for trade caravans. Here, the route to the northwest through the mountain passes diverged from the road to [[Northeast China|the Northeast]]. Ji also had a steady water supply from the nearby Lotus Pool, which still exists south of the [[Beijing West railway station]]. The Liulihe settlement relied on the more seasonal flow of the Liuli River. Some time during the [[Western Zhou dynasty|Western Zhou]] or early [[Eastern Zhou dynasty]], Yan conquered Ji and moved its capital to Ji, which continued to be called Jicheng or the City of Ji until the 2nd century AD.<ref name="Shangdu"/> Due to its historical association with the State of Yan, the city of Beijing is also known as '''Yanjing''' ({{lang|zh|燕京}}) or the "Yan Capital."{{refn|group=Note|The State of Yan had several capitals beside the City of Ji. When Yan was threatened by the [[Shanrong]] nomads from the north during the reign of Duke Heng of Yan (698-691 BC), the capital was moved south to Linyi ({{lang|zh-hant|臨易}}) in the present-day Hebei counties of [[Rongcheng County|Rongcheng]] and [[Xiong County|Xiong]]. When faced with the threat from the [[Qi (state)|State of Qi]] from the south in the 530s BC, the capital returned to the north, either back to the City of Jicheng or the Ancient City of Doudian ({{lang|zh|窦店古城}}), a walled settlement also located in modern-day [[Liangxiang]] of Fangshan District. Historians sometimes refer to the City of Ji as the Shangdu ({{lang|zh|上都}}) or "Upper Capital" and the Ancient City of Doudian as Zhongdu ({{lang|zh|中都}}), or "Middle Capital." In the 4th century BC, Duke Shaoxiang of Yan established [[Xiadu]] ({{lang|zh|下都}}) or the "Lower Capital", a larger settlement south of Linyi, in modern day [[Yi County, Hebei]] Province. At the time of the Qin conquests in 226 BC, the capital was back in the City of Ji.<ref name="Shangdu"/><ref name="Linyi">{{cite web |url=http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj3.htm |script-title=zh:走进燕国 >> 燕都遗迹 >> 易都—容城南阳遗址、雄县古贤村遗址 |website=yanduyizhi.com |access-date=2012-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000430/http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj3.htm |archive-date=2013-12-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Yan Zhongdu">{{cite web |url=http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj4.htm |script-title=zh:走进燕国 >> 燕都遗迹 >> 中都——窦店古城 |website=yanduyizhi.com |access-date=2012-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232056/http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj4.htm |archive-date=2013-12-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Xiadu">{{cite web |url=http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj5.htm |script-title=zh:走进燕国 >> 燕都遗迹 >> 下都—河北易县燕下都遗址 |website=yanduyizhi.com |access-date=2012-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409121453/http://www.yanduyizhi.com/ydyj5.htm |archive-date=2016-04-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

The State of Yan continued to expand until it became one of the [[Seven Warring States|seven major powers]] during the [[Warring States period]] (473–221 BC).<ref name="hist">{{cite web|title=Beijing's History|url=http://china.org.cn/english/features/beijing/30785.htm|publisher=China Internet Information Center|access-date=2008-05-01}}</ref> It stretched from the [[Yellow River]] to the [[Yalu River|Yalu]].{{refn|group=Note|In the 3rd century BC, the Yellow River followed a more northerly course than the present day. It emptied into the Bohai Sea at a point south of Tianjin in what is now Hebei province as opposed Shandong Province today.}} Like subsequent rulers of Beijing, the Yan also faced the threat of invasions by the [[Shanrong]] [[Eurasian nomads|steppe nomads]], and built walled fortifications across its northern frontier. Remnants of the Yan walls in Changping County date to 283 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thegreatwall.com.cn/aboutgreatwall/history2/zhanguo/yan/news.html |script-title=zh:关于燕长城的资料整理（一） |website=thegreatwall.com.cn |access-date=2010-10-22}}</ref> They predate Beijing's better known [[Ming Great Wall]] by more than 1,500 years.

In 226 BC, the City of Ji fell to the invading [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]] and the State of Yan was forced to move its capital to [[Liaodong]].<ref>[[#CASS|CASS 1985]]: 13-14</ref> The Qin eventually ended Yan in 222 BC. The following year, the ruler of Qin, having [[Qin's wars of unification|conquered all the other states]], declared himself to be the [[Qin Shi Huang|First Emperor]].

==Early imperial history==
{{See also|Youzhou|Guangyang Commandery|Yuyang Commandery|Yan Kingdom (Han dynasty)}}
[[File:Celadon standing man figure, Haidian Museum, Wei Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|[[Celadon]] figurines from the [[Cao Wei|Wei Kingdom]] of [[Three Kingdoms]] Period, discovered in Balizhuang of [[Haidian District]], now located in the Haidian Museum.]]
During the first one thousand years of Chinese imperial history, Beijing was a provincial city on the northern periphery of [[China proper]]. [[Dynasties in Chinese history|Dynasties]] with capitals in the [[Central Plain (China)|Central]] and [[Guanzhong]] Plains used the city to manage trade and military relations with nomadic peoples of the north and northeast.<ref name="BTVU3.1"/>

The [[Qin dynasty]] built a highly centralized state and divided the country into 48 [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]] (''jun''), two of which are located in present-day Beijing. The City of Ji became the seat of '''[[Guangyang Commandery]]''' (广阳郡/廣陽郡). To the north, in present-day [[Miyun County]], was [[Yuyang Commandery]]. The Qin removed defensive barriers dividing the Warring States, including the southern wall of the Yan, which separated the Beijing Plain from the Central Plain, and built a national roadway network.<ref name="BTVU3.1">(Chinese)[http://media.openedu.com.cn/media_file/netcourse/asx/bjlswh/unit03/htm/01_1.htm 北京历史与文化，第三讲　屏障中原的军事重镇- Beijing Radio Television University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233954/http://media.openedu.com.cn/media_file/netcourse/asx/bjlswh/unit03/htm/01_1.htm |date=2013-12-30 }} Accessed 2013-01-06</ref> Ji served as the junction for the roads connecting the Central Plain with Mongolia and Manchuria.<ref name="BTVU3.1"/> The First Emperor visited Ji in 215 BC and, to protect the frontier from the [[Xiongnu]], had the Great Wall built in Yuyang Commandery and fortified [[Juyong Pass]].<ref name="BTVU3.1"/>

The [[Han dynasty]], which followed the short-lived Qin in 206 BC, initially restored some local autonomy. [[Emperor Gaozu of Han|Liu Bang]], the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, recognized a number of [[Kings of the Han dynasty|regional kingdoms]] including Yan, ruled by [[Zang Tu]], who had joined the revolt that overthrew the Qin, seized the City of Ji and sided with [[Liu Bang]] in the [[Chu–Han Contention|war with Xiang Yu for supremacy]]. But Zang rebelled and was executed, and Liu granted the kingdom to his childhood friend [[Lu Wan]]. Later, Liu became mistrustful of Lu, and the latter fled the City of Ji to join the [[Xiongnu]] tribes of the steppes. Liu Bang's eighth son took control of Yan, which was subsequently ruled by [[Kings of the Han dynasty|lineal princes of the imperial family]], from the City of Ji, then known as '''[[Yan Commandery]]''' (燕郡), and the '''Principality of Guangyang''' (广阳国/廣陽國). In the early Western Han, the four counties of Guangyang Principality had 20,740 households and an estimated population of 70,685.<ref name="Ancient Population ">(Chinese) [http://greatcourse.cnu.edu.cn/beijingshi/wlkc/learning/index_02_01.htm 第一节 北京历代人口的发展状况及其特点] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001704/http://greatcourse.cnu.edu.cn/beijingshi/wlkc/learning/index_02_01.htm |date=2013-12-31 }} Accessed 2013-01-20</ref><ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/>

[[File:Tanzhe Si.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Tanzhe Temple]] in [[Western Hills]], founded in 307 in the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]], is the oldest [[Buddhist]] temple in Beijing.]]
In 106 BC, under [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]], the country was organized into 13 prefectural-provinces, or ''[[Zhou (country subdivision)|zhou]]'' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|州}}}}), and the City of Ji served as the provincial capital for '''[[Youzhou]]''' ({{lang|zh|幽州}}), the territories of which extended from what is now central [[Hebei Province]] to the [[Korean Peninsula]]. The tomb of Liu Jian, the Prince of Guangyang who ruled Youzhou from 73 to 45 BC was discovered in Fengtai District in 1974 and has been preserved in the [[Dabaotai Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum]].<ref>''see'' [http://www.dbtxhm.org.cn/bwgjj1.html Museum Website] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130615092806/http://www.dbtxhm.org.cn/bwgjj1.html |date=2013-06-15 }} and [http://www.apolloinvestment.com/DabaotaiHan/DabaotaiHan.htm "Dabaotai Han Mausoleum in Beijing"]</ref> In 1999, another royal tomb was found in Laoshan in [[Shijingshan District]] but the prince formerly buried there has not been identified.<ref>[http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/841.html Koh Cherng Phing, "Tomb could reveal secrets of Han dynasty" ''The Straits Times''] 2000-09-01</ref><ref>(Chinese)[http://www.2000888.com/www/wenhuaqikan/0821/hanmu/fhm2.html "偶然侦破一宗盗墓案发现老山西汉陵"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707061332/http://www.2000888.com/www/wenhuaqikan/0821/hanmu/fhm2.html |date=2011-07-07 }}</ref>

During the early Eastern Han dynasty in 57 AD, the five counties of Guangyang Commandery had 44,550 households and an estimated 280,600 residents.<ref name="Ancient Population "/><ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> By population density, Guangyang ranked in the top 20 among the 105 commanderies nationally.<ref name="Ancient Population "/> In the late Eastern Han, the [[Yellow Turban Rebellion]] erupted in Hebei in 184 AD and briefly seized Youzhou. The court relied on regional militaries to put down the rebellion and Youzhou was controlled successively by warlords [[Liu Yu (warlord)|Liu Yu]], [[Gongsun Zan]], [[Yuan Shao]] and [[Cao Cao]].<ref name="BTVU3.2">(Chinese) [http://media.openedu.com.cn/media_file/netcourse/asx/bjlswh/unit03/htm/01_2.htm 北京历史与文化，第三讲　二、中央政府与地方势力的较量 - Beijing Radio Television University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235929/http://media.openedu.com.cn/media_file/netcourse/asx/bjlswh/unit03/htm/01_2.htm |date=2013-12-30 }} Accessed 2013-01-06</ref> In 194 AD, Yuan Shao captured Ji from Gongsun Zan with the help of [[Wuhuan]] and [[Xianbei]] allies from the steppes.<ref name="BTVU3.2"/> Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao [[Battle of Guandu|in 200 AD]] and the Wuhuan [[Battle of White Wolf Mountain|in 207 AD]] to pacify the north.<ref name="BTVU3.2"/>

During the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, the [[Cao Wei|Kingdom of Wei]] founded by Cao Cao's son, [[Cao Pi]], controlled ten of the Han dynasty's prefectures including Youzhou and its capital Ji. The Wei court instituted offices in Youzhou to manage relations with the Wuhuan and Xianbei.<ref name=WeiKingdom/> To help sustain the troops garrisoned in Youzhou, the governor in 250 AD built the [[Lilingyan]], an irrigation system that greatly improved agricultural output in the plains around Ji.<ref name=WeiKingdom>(Chinese) [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031133/http://www.bjma.gov.cn/InfoShowRoll/InfoShowRolls.ycs?GUID=1166%E8%8B%8F%E5%A4%A9%E9%92%A7, 魏晋十六国时期的幽州城, 北京城市历史地理] 2005-12-30</ref>

Ji was demoted to a mere county seat in the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Western Jin dynasty]], which made neighboring [[Zhuozhou|Zhuo County]], in present-day [[Hebei Province]], the prefectural capital of Youzhou. In the early 4th century, the Western Jin dynasty [[Uprising of the Five Barbarians|was overthrown]] by [[Five Barbarians|steppe peoples who had settled in northern China]] and established a series of [[Sixteen Kingdoms|mostly short-lived kingdoms]]. During the so-called [[Sixteen Kingdoms]] period, Beijing, still known as Ji, was controlled successively by the [[Di (Five Barbarians)|Di]]-led [[Former Qin]], the [[Jie (ethnic group)|Jie]]-led [[Later Zhao]], and the [[Xianbei]]-led [[Former Yan]] and [[Later Yan]]. In 352, Prince [[Murong Jun]], moved the capital of the [[Former Yan]] Kingdom from [[Manchuria]] to [[Jicheng (Beijing)|Ji]], making the city a sovereign capital for the first time in over 500 years.<ref name="Difangzhi"/> Five years later, the Former Yan's capital was moved further south to [[Ye (ancient China)|Ye]] in southern Hebei.<ref name="Difangzhi"/> In 397 AD, the [[Northern Wei]], another Xianbei regime, united northern China and restored Ji as the capital of Youzhou. While this designation continued through the remainder of the Northern Dynasties, the [[Eastern Wei]], [[Northern Qi]] and [[Northern Zhou]], the size of its jurisdiction shrank drastically, as the number of ''[[Zhou (country subdivision)|zhou]]'' in China was massively increased in this period, from 21 in the early 4th century to more than 200 in the late 6th century.

In 446, the Northern Wei built a Great Wall from Juyong Pass west to Shanxi to protect its capital, [[Datong]], from the [[Rouran]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.thegreatwall.com.cn/aboutgreatwall/history2/beiwei/ 北魏长城简介] Accessed 2013-01-20</ref> In 553–56, the Northern Qi extended this Great Wall eastward to the Bohai Sea to defend against the [[Göktürks]], who raided Youzhou in 564 and 578.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.thegreatwall.com.cn/aboutgreatwall/history2/beiqi/ 北朝北齐及前后朝长城修建情况资料调查] Accessed 2013-01-20</ref><ref>(Chinese) [http://www.xjass.com/ls/content/2010-07/03/content_155299.htm 芮传明, "六世纪下半叶突厥与中原王朝的战争原因探讨" 《西北史地》 1985年03期 新疆哲学社会科学网] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072827/http://www.xjass.com/ls/content/2010-07/03/content_155299.htm |date=2014-04-07 }} 2010-07-03</ref> Centuries of warfare severely depopulated northern China. During the Eastern Wei (534–550), Youzhou, Anzhou (modern Miyun) and East Yanzhou (modern Changping) had a combined 4,600 households and about 170,000 residents.<ref name="Ancient Population "/><ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/>

[[File:Fayuan Temple1.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Fayuan Temple]] in [[Xicheng District]] was first established by [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]] of the [[Tang dynasty]] in 645]]
After the [[Sui dynasty]] reunited China in 589 AD, Youzhou was renamed '''Zhuojun''' or the '''[[Zhuo Commandery]]''' ({{lang|zh|涿郡}}), which was administered from Ji. In 609, Zhuo Commandery and neighboring Anle Commandery (modern Miyun) had a combined 91,658 households and an estimated population of 458,000.<ref name="Ancient Population "/><ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] built a network of canals from the Central Plain to Zhuojun to carry troops and food for the [[Goguryeo–Sui War|massive military campaigns]] against [[Goguryeo]] (Korea). Though the campaigns proved to be ruinous, they were continued by the [[Tang dynasty]]. In 645 AD, the [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]] of the [[Tang dynasty]] founded the Minzhong Temple (now [[Fayuan Temple]]) in the southeast of Ji to remember the war dead from the [[Goguryeo–Tang War|Korean Campaigns]]. The Fayuan Temple, now within Xicheng District, is one of the oldest temples in urban Beijing.

The Tang dynasty reduced the size of a prefecture, as a unit of administration administrative division, from a province to a commandery and renamed Zhuojun back to Youzhou, which was one of over 300 Tang Prefectures.<ref>[[#CASS|CASS 1985]]: 39-40</ref> With the creation of a separate prefecture called Jizhou ({{lang|zh-hant|薊州}}) in present-day [[Tianjin]] in 730, the name Ji was transplanted from Beijing to Tianjin, where a [[Ji County, Tianjin|Ji County]] ({{lang|zh-hans|蓟县}}) still exists today.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jixian.52njl.com/farm21.htm |script-title=zh:古今的‘蓟县’，我今天才大概知道 |website=52njl.com |date=2012-07-07 |access-date=2012-12-19 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116093719/http://jixian.52njl.com/farm21.htm |archive-date=2013-01-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Beijing, the City of Ji gradually became known as Youzhou. During the prosperous early Tang, Youzhou's ten counties tripled in size from 21,098 households and about 102,079 residents to 67,242 households and 371,312 residents in 742.<ref name="Ancient Population "/><ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> In 742, Youzhou was renamed '''[[Fanyang Commandery]]''' ({{lang|zh-hant|范陽郡}}), but reverted to Youzhou in 762.

[[File:Guyaju ruins, Yanqing county, Beijing.JPG|thumb|left|The mysterious Guyaju cave dwellings in [[Yanqing County]] are believed to be abode of the [[Xí|Xi people]] during the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[Five Dynasties]] period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ahcltv.com/folder8/folder1723/folder1729/2012/11/2012-11-2044169.html |script-title=zh:北京延庆古崖居 探千古之谜 |website=ahcltv.com |date=2012-11-20 |access-date=2012-12-01 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116161300/http://www.ahcltv.com/folder8/folder1723/folder1729/2012/11/2012-11-2044169.html |archive-date=2013-01-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]]
To guard against barbarian invasions, the imperial court created six frontier military commands in 711 AD, and Youzhou became the headquarters of the [[Youzhou Jiedushi|Youzhou ''Jiedushi'']], who was tasked to monitor the [[Khitan people|Khitan]] and [[Xí|Xi]] nomads just north of present-day Hebei Province. In 755, the ''Jiedushi'' [[An Lushan]] launched a rebellion from Youzhou, and declared himself the emperor of the [[Yan (Anshi)|Great Yan dynasty]].  He went on to conquer Luoyang and Xi'an with a multi-ethnic army of [[Han Chinese|Han]], [[Tiele people|Tongluo]], Xi, Khitan and [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]] troops.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/chapter_92863_59631.html |script-title=zh:《大唐如此江山》 十、最初的一个月 |website=[[Sina Corp|Sina]] Books |date=2009-05-15}}</ref> After An's death, [[Shi Siming]] continued the rebellion from Youzhou. Shi Siming's tomb was discovered in Wangzuo Village in Fengtai District in 1966 and excavated in 1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sscqw.net/Article/yanjiuzuzhi/gdmr/200901/212.html |script-title=zh:史思明墓 |website=sscwq.net |date=2009-01-20 |access-date=2012-12-06 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222083243/http://www.sscqw.net/Article/yanjiuzuzhi/gdmr/200901/212.html |archive-date=2013-02-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[An–Shi Rebellion]] lasted eight years and severely weakened the Tang dynasty. For the next 150 years, [[Three Fanzhen of Hebei|military governors ruled Youzhou autonomously]].<ref name="BTVU3.3"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://greatcourse.cnu.edu.cn/beijingshi/wlkc/learning/1_02_01.htm |script-title=zh:第二章 秦汉至五代时期的北京（公元前221年至937年） |publisher=[[Capital Normal University]] |access-date=2013-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234654/http://greatcourse.cnu.edu.cn/beijingshi/wlkc/learning/1_02_01.htm |archive-date=2013-12-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

When the Tang dynasty was overthrown in 907 by the [[Later Liang (Five Dynasties)|Later Liang dynasty]], Youzhou remained independent and its military governor [[Liu Shouguang]] declared himself emperor of the short-lived [[Yan (Five Dynasties period)|Jie Yan dynasty]] in 911.<ref name="BTVU3.3">{{cite web |url=http://media.openedu.com.cn/media_file/netcourse/asx/bjlswh/unit03/htm/01_4.htm |script-title=zh:北京历史与文化，第三讲 四、藩镇割据与幽云十六州的割让 |publisher=Beijing Radio Television University |access-date=2013-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000222/http://media.openedu.com.cn/media_file/netcourse/asx/bjlswh/unit03/htm/01_4.htm |archive-date=2013-12-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="BJWW-Five Dynasties"/> This regime was ended in 913 by the ethnic [[Shatuo]] general [[Li Cunxu]] who went on to found the [[Later Tang|Later Tang dynasty]] in 923.<ref name="BTVU3.3"/> The disintegration of the Tang dynasty into the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period|Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] paved the way for Khitan expansion into northern China, which prompted the rise of Beijing in Chinese history.<ref name="BTVU3.3"/><ref name="BJWW-Five Dynasties"/>

The nomadic Khitan people were united under [[Emperor Taizu of Liao|Yelü Abaoji]], who founded the [[Liao dynasty]] in 916 and, from 917 to 928, tried seven times to take Youzhou.<ref name="BJWW-Five Dynasties">(Chinese) [http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2006/4-12/16271.html 郗志群 & 王新迎, "试论五代前期幽州的军事与战争" Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232827/http://www.bjww.gov.cn/2006/4-12/16271.html |date=2013-12-30 }} 2006-04-12</ref> In 936, a rift in the Later Tang court allowed Yelü Abaoji to help another ethnic Shatuo general [[Shi Jingtang]] found the third of the Five Dynasties, the [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]].<ref name="BTVU3.3"/> Shi Jingtang then ceded [[Sixteen Prefectures|sixteen prefectures across the northern frontier]] including Youzhou, Shunzhou (modern Shunyi), Tanzhou (modern Changping) and Ruzhou (modern Yanqing) to the Liao dynasty.<ref name="BTVU3.3"/>

==Liao, Song and Jin dynasties==
Though Beijing was but a peripheral city to Chinese dynasties centered in [[Luoyang]] and [[Xi'an]], it was an important entryway into China for tribal peoples to the north. The city's stature grew from the 10th century with successive invasions of [[China proper]] by the Khitans, Jurchens, and Mongols, who respectively founded the [[Liao dynasty]], [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] and [[Yuan dynasty]].

===Liao Nanjing===
{{Main|Nanjing (Liao dynasty)}}
[[File:Beijing history.jpg|320px|thumb|Map showing the change of the city walls in Beijing throughout Liao, Jurchen Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.]]
In 938, the [[Liao dynasty]] renamed Youzhou, '''[[Liao Nanjing|Nanjing]]''' (南京) or the "Southern Capital" and made the city one of [[List of provinces of Liao|four secondary capitals]] to the primary seat of power at Shangjing (in modern-day [[Baarin Left Banner]], [[Inner Mongolia]]). The Liao retained the Tang configuration of the city, which had eight gates in its outer wall, two in each cardinal direction, an inner walled city, which was converted into palace complex, and 26 residential neighborhoods.<ref name=NanjingZhongdu>(Chinese) [http://yonghai1237.blog.163.com/blog/static/248092200672703119267/ "辽南京与金中都"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702000521/http://yonghai1237.blog.163.com/blog/static/248092200672703119267/ |date=2017-07-02 }}</ref>
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1 = Niujie Mosques02.jpg
 | width1 = 270
 | caption1 = [[Niujie Mosque]], the oldest mosque in Beijing, was founded in 996.
 | image2 = Tianning Pagoda 1.JPG
 | width2 = 152
 | caption2 = The [[Pagoda of Tianning Temple (Beijing)|Pagoda of Tianning Temple]] was built in 1120.
}}
Thus, the City of Ji, ceded to the Liao as Youzhou, continued as Nanjing in what is today the southwest part of urban Beijing. Some of the oldest landmarks in southern Xicheng (formerly [[Xuanwu District, Beijing|Xuanwu]]) and Fengtai Districts date to the Liao era. They include Sanmiao Road, one of the oldest streets in Beijing<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 11</ref> and the [[Niujie Mosque]], founded in 996, and the [[Pagoda of Tianning Temple (Beijing)|Tianning Temple]], built from 1100 to 1119. Under Liao rule, the population inside the walled city grew from 22,000 in 938 to 150,000 in 1113 (and the population of the surrounding region grew from 100,000 to 583,000) as large numbers of Khitan, Xi, [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]] and [[Balhae]] from the north and [[Han Chinese|Han]] from the south migrated to the city.{{sfn|Han|1996|pp=137, 230–35}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/>

The [[Song dynasty]], after unifying the rest of China in 960, sought to recapture the lost northern territories. In 979, [[Emperor Taizong of Song|Emperor Taizong]] personally led a military expedition that reached and laid siege to Nanjing ([[Youzhou]]) but was defeated in the decisive [[Battle of Gaoliang River]], just northwest of present-day [[Xizhimen]].

In 1120, the Song entered the [[Alliance on the Sea]] with the [[Jurchen people|Jurchens]], a semi-agricultural, forest-dwelling people living northeast of the Liao in modern-day [[Manchuria]]. The two nations agreed to jointly invade the Liao and split captured territories, with most of the Sixteen Prefectures going to the Song.<ref>[[#Mote|Mote 1999]]: 208</ref> Under the leadership of [[Wanyan Aguda]], who founded the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)]], the Jurchens captured in rapid succession the Liao's Upper, Central and Eastern Capitals.<ref name=1120AD>(Chinese) [http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E4%BA%8C%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831120%E5%B9%B4/ 《中国历史历年大事记》"北宋／辽 - 宣和二年 公元1120年 庚子"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018134117/http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E4%BA%8C%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831120%E5%B9%B4/ |date=2017-10-18 }} Accessed 2014-01-08</ref><ref name=1122AD/>

In the spring of 1122, the Liao court [[Northern Liao|rallied around Prince Yelü Chun in Nanjing]], and defeated two Song army advances.<ref name=1122AD/> After Yelü Chun died of illness in the early summer, Guo Yaoshi, an ethnic Han commander in the Liao Army, defected to the Song and led the vanguard of the Song Army in a raid on Nanjing.<ref name=1122AD>(Chinese) [http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E5%9B%9B%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831122%E5%B9%B4/ 《中国历史历年大事记》"北宋／辽 - 宣和四年 公元1122年 壬寅"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063905/http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E5%9B%9B%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831122%E5%B9%B4/ |date=2016-03-04 }} Accessed 2014-01-08</ref> The raiders entered the city, but the Liao Empress Xiao continued to resist from the walled palace complex.<ref name=LiaoNanjing>(Chinese) [http://cn.obj.cc/article-7779-1.html "辽南京（燕京）皇城" ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313043603/http://cn.obj.cc/article-7779-1.html |date=2016-03-13 }} 2002-12-1</ref> After three days of street fighting, Liao reinforcements reached the city ahead of the main Song Army, and managed to expel Guo Yaoshi's forces.<ref name=1122AD/><ref name=LiaoNanjing/> In the winter of 1122, the Jin Army drove through the Juyong Pass and marched on Nanjing from the north.<ref name=1122AD/> This time, Empress Xiao fled to the steppes and the remaining Liao officials capitulated. Wanyan Aguda allowed the surrendering officials to retain their positions and encouraged refugees to return to the city, which was renamed Yanjing.<ref name=1122AD/>

===Song Yanshan===
In the spring of 1123, Wanyan Aguda agreed, as per treaty terms, to hand Yanjing and four other prefectures to the Song in exchange for tribute.<ref name=1123AD/> The handover occurred after the Jurchens had looted the city's wealth and forced all officials and craftsman to move to the Jin capital at [[Huining Prefecture|Shangjing]] (near present-day [[Harbin]]).<ref name=1123AD>(Chinese) [http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E4%BA%94%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831123%E5%B9%B4/《中国历史历年大事记》 "北宋／辽 - 宣和五年 公元1123年 癸卯"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302114220/http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E4%BA%94%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831123%E5%B9%B4/ |date=2016-03-02 }} Accessed 2014-01-08</ref> Thus, the Song, having failed to take the city militarily from the Khitans, managed to purchase Yanjing from the Jurchens.<ref>[[#Mote|Mote 1999]]: 209</ref> Song rule of the city, renamed '''Yanshan''' (燕山), was short-lived.

As the convoy of relocated Nanjing residents passed [[Lulong County|Pingzhou]] (near [[Qinhuangdao]]) on their way to the Northeast, they persuaded the governor Zhang Jue to restore them to their home city. Zhang Jue, a former Liao official who had surrendered to the Jin dynasty, then switched his allegiance to the Song.<ref name=1123AD/> [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Emperor Huizong]] welcomed his defection, ignoring warnings from his diplomats that the Jurchens would regard the acceptance of defectors as a breach of the treaty.<ref name=1123AD/> The Jurchens defeated Zhang Jue who took refuge with Guo Yaoshi at Yanshan.<ref name=1123AD/> The Song court had Zhang Jue executed to satisfy Jin demands, much to the alarm of Guo Yaoshi and other former Liao officials serving the Song.<ref name=1123AD/>

The Jurchens, sensing Song weakness, used the Zhang Jue incident as [[Jin–Song Wars#Collapse of the Song–Jin alliance|a pretext to invade]]. In 1125, Jin forces defeated Guo Yaoshi at the Battle of the Bai River, on the upper reaches of the [[Chaobai River]] in modern Miyun County.<ref name=1125AD>(Chinese) [http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E4%B8%83%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831125%E5%B9%B4/《中国历史历年大事记》 "北宋／辽 - 宣和七年 公元1125年 乙巳"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302125311/http://www.alai.net/app/index.php/His/show/n/%E5%AE%A3%E5%92%8C%E4%B8%83%E5%B9%B4%20%E5%85%AC%E5%85%831125%E5%B9%B4/ |date=2016-03-02 }} Accessed 2014-01-08</ref> Guo Yaoshi then surrendered Yanshan and then guided the Jin's rapid advance on the Song capital, [[Kaifeng]], where the Song emperors Huizong and [[Emperor Qinzong of Song|Qinzong]] [[Jingkang Incident|were captured in 1127]], ending the Northern Song dynasty.<ref name=1125AD/> Yanshan was renamed Yanjing.

===Jin Zhongdu===
{{Main|Zhongdu}}
[[File:卢沟桥的狮子 透视.JPG|thumb|200px|The [[Lugou Bridge]], first built in 1189, dates to the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin (金) dynasty (1115–1234)]].]]
[[File:Yinshan Pagoda Forest1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Yinshan Pagoda Forest in [[Yanqing County|Yanqing]] became a Buddhist sanctuary in the early 9th century. Of the seven pagodas standing today, five date to the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin (金) dynasty (1115–1234)]] and two to the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://jingqu.wanjingchina.com/jingqu/BeiJing/15430_1.html 银山塔林景区历史] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020103418/http://jingqu.wanjingchina.com/jingqu/BeiJing/15430_1.html |date=2012-10-20 }}</ref>]]
In 1153 the Jin emperor [[Wanyan Liang]] moved his capital from Shangjing to Yanjing and the city was renamed '''Zhongdu''' (中都) or the "Central Capital".<ref name="hist"/> For the first time in its history, the city of Beijing became a political capital of a major dynasty.

The Jin expanded the city to the west, east, and south, doubling its size. On today's map of urban Beijing, Zhongdu would extend from Xuanwumen in the northeast to the Beijing West railway station to the west, and south to beyond the southern [[2nd Ring Road]]. The walled city had 13 gates, four in the north and three openings in each of the other sides. [[Beijing Liao and Jin City Wall Museum|Remnants of Zhongdu city walls]] are preserved in Fengtai District.<ref>[http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/museums/139756.htm Beijing Liao and Jin City Wall Museum]</ref> The Jin emphasized the centrality of the regime by placing the walled palace complex near the center of Zhongdu. The palace was situated south of present-day Guang'anmen and north of the [[Grand View Garden]].<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 55</ref> In 1179, [[Emperor Zhangzong of Jin|Emperor Zhangzong]] had a country retreat built northeast of Zhongdu. [[Taiye Lake]] was excavated along the Jinshui River<ref name=h2story>Du, Pengfei & al. "History of Water Supply in Pre-Modern China" from ''Evolution of Water Supply through the Millennia'', [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WxXu83RxSNwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA169 pp. 169 ff]. Accessed 16 November 2013.</ref> and Daning Palace ({{lang|zh|大寧宮}}/{{lang|zh|大宁宫}}) was erected on Qionghua Island in the lake.<ref>Rinaldi, Bianca. ''The Chinese Garden: Garden Types for Contemporary Landscape Architecture'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=iP5kkNjY_GYC&pg=PA137 p. 137]. Walter de Gruyter, 2011. Accessed 16 November 2013.</ref>{{refn|group=Note|The Daning Palace is also called the Taining, Shouan, and Wanning Palace.}} The grounds of this palace is now [[Beihai Park]].

Paper money was first issued in Beijing during the Jin.<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 13</ref> The [[Lugou Bridge]], over the Yongding River southwest of the city, was built in 1189. Seventeen Jin emperors are buried in Fangshan District, including those whose tombs were originally built in Shangjing and moved to Zhongdu.<ref>(Chinese) [http://news.eastday.com/epublish/gb/paper148/20030908/class014800012/hwz1008315.htm 东松, 北京金代皇陵揭开神秘面纱-专家细说发现始末, 人民日报海外版] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084447/http://news.eastday.com/epublish/gb/paper148/20030908/class014800012/hwz1008315.htm |date=2016-03-04 }} 2003-09-08</ref> The city's population grew from 82,000 in 1125 to 400,000 in 1207 (and from 340,000 in the surrounding region to 1.6 million).{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/>
{{multiple image
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 | header = [[Genghis Khan]] at Zhongdu
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 | footer = Illustrations from the ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]'' by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]] Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Division Orientale.
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 | image1 = Siège de Beijing (1213-1214).jpeg
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 | image2 = Djengiz Khân et les envoyés chinois.jpeg
 | width2 = 230
 | caption2 = Genghis Khan receiving Jin envoys and the Qiguo Princess.}}
Zhongdu served as the Jin capital for more than 60 years, until the [[Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty|onslaught of the Mongols]] in 1214.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 54</ref> The [[Mongols]], a tribal nomadic people from the [[Mongolian Plateau]] and southern Siberia, had assisted the Jurchen in the war against the Khitans, but were not given the promised compensation. In 1211, the Mongols led by [[Genghis Khan]] took revenge against the Jin by invading northern China. By 1213, he had controlled most of Jin territory north of the [[Yellow River]] with the exception of the capital Zhongdu. In March 1214, he set up headquarters in Zhongdu's northern suburbs and with brother [[Hasar]] and three eldest sons, [[Jochi]], [[Chagatai Khan|Chagatai]] and [[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]], began to [[Battle of Zhongdu|besiege the city]].<ref>[[#Ratchnevsky 1993|Ratchnevsky 1993]]: 112</ref> Though the Jin court was weakened by a palace coup, the city was protected by three layers of moats and 900 towers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen R. Turnbull|title=Genghis Khan & the Mongol conquests, 1190-1400|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2003|page=31|isbn=1-84176-523-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2MMD0yfxyAC&q=zhongdu+1214+moat&pg=PA31|quote=[Zhongdu's] walls, which were built on stamped clay and crowned with crenellated brick battlements, measured 18 miles (28km) in circumference and reached a height of 12 m (40 feet). Twelve gates gave access to the city, and there were 900 towers and three lines of moats.|access-date=2011-12-25}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> When disease broke out within the Mongol ranks, Genghis Khan sent Muslim envoy Ja'far into the city to negotiate, and the Jin court agreed to a peace treaty by ceding territory and accepting vassal status. Among Genghis Khan's demands was marriage to a Jurchen princess. The Qicheng Princess, daughter of [[Wanyan Yongji]], was designated for the Mongol chieftain.<ref>[[#Shanley 2008|Shanley 2008]]: 129</ref><ref>[[#Jiong Fan 1994|Jiong Fan 1994]]: 157</ref> She along with 100 guards, 500 boys and girl servants, 3,000 bolts of cloth, and 3,000 horses were sent to the Mongol camp.<ref>[[#Ratchnevsky 1993|Ratchnevsky 1993]]: 113–14</ref> The Qicheng Princess became one of the four main wives of Genghis Khan, who lifted the siege and withdrew north of the [[Juyongguan|Juyong Pass]].

[[Emperor Xuanzong of Jin|Emperor Xuanzong]], after considerable debate, decided to move the capital from Zhongdu to Kaifeng further to the south. In June 1214, as the Jin imperial procession departed the city, a detachment of Khitan guards rebelled at the Lugou Bridge and defected to the Mongols. Genghis Khan believed the Jin was trying to rebuild military strength further south in breach of the terms of peace and decided to reinvade the Jin. By winter, Mongol troops were again besieging Zhongdu.<ref>[[#Ratchnevsky 1993|Ratchnevsky 1993]]: 114</ref>

In 1215, after a bitter siege in which many of the city's inhabitants starved, Zhongdu's 100,000 defenders and 108,000 households surrendered.<ref>[[#Ratchnevsky 1993|Ratchnevsky 1993]]: 114-115</ref> The city was still looted and burned by the invaders.<ref>[[#Ratchnevsky 1993|Ratchnevsky 1993]]: 115</ref> Zhongdu was renamed Yanjing and its population shrank to 91,000 in 1216 (with 285,000 in the surrounding region).{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> Among the captives taken from the city was a Khitan named [[Yelü Chucai]], who persuaded Genghis Khan that while China could be conquered from the saddle, it could not be ruled from the saddle. Rather than converting northern China into pastures, it would be more beneficial for Mongols to tax the agrarian population. Genghis Khan heeded the advice and the Mongol pillaging eased. The Mongols continued to the war against the Jurchens until the capture of Kaifeng in 1234 ended the Jin dynasty. Yelü Chucai was buried on the east bank of [[Kunming Lake]] in what is now the [[Summer Palace]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.fjdh.com/wumin/2010/11/085227132120.html "耶律楚材的西山情结"] 2010-11-12</ref>

In 1219, Genghis Khan invited the [[Taoism|Daoist]] sage [[Qiu Chuji]] for advice on "keeping the empire in good order."<ref>(Chinese) [http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/HistoricBeijing/History/pages/146_WhiteCloudTemple.html "Chinghis Khan's letter of invitation to Ch'ang ch'un &#91;Qiu Chuji&#93;" in E. Bretschneider, ''Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources'' (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1888). pp. 37-39; reprinted in Marilyn Shea "Baiyun Guan 白云观 White Cloud Temple, Temple of Founder Qiu 邱祖殿" 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321063257/http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/HistoricBeijing/History/pages/146_WhiteCloudTemple.html |date=2018-03-21 }} Accessed 2017-06-27</ref>  The 76-year old Qiu had previously declined invitations from the emperors of the Jin and Southern Song, but agreed to travel from Shandong to Yanjing and then to Central Asia, where, at the Mongol encampment in the [[Hindu Kush]], he taught the Genghis Khan about the ''[[Tao|Dao]]'', telling the great khan medicine for immortality did not exist<ref>(Chinese) [http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/HistoricBeijing/History/pages/153b_WhiteCloudTemple.html E. Bretschneider, ''Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources'' (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1888). pp. 83-88; reprinted in Marilyn Shea "Baiyun Guan 白云观 White Cloud Temple, Temple of Founder Qiu 邱祖殿" 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321063256/http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/HistoricBeijing/History/pages/153b_WhiteCloudTemple.html |date=2018-03-21 }} Accessed 2017-06-27</ref> and urged him to preserve lives.<ref name="Qiuchuji"/>  The Mongol leader called Qiu an [[Xian (Taoism)|immortal sage]], made him the head Daoist priest of the empire and exempted Daoism from taxation.  Qiu returned to Yanjing in 1224 and expanded what would become the [[White Cloud Temple]], where he is buried and which is today the seat of the [[Chinese Taoist Association|Chinese Daoist Association]].<ref name="Qiuchuji">(Chinese) [http://news.163.com/14/1020/08/A90521TR00014Q4P.html 胡刃, "成吉思汗与丘处机" 北方新报(呼和浩特)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321063259/http://news.163.com/14/1020/08/A90521TR00014Q4P.html |date=2018-03-21 }} 2014-10-20</ref>

==Yuan dynasty==
{{Main|Khanbaliq}}
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 | caption1 = [[Kublai Khan]] made Beijing the capital of [[Yuan dynasty]].<small> (Portrait by [[Araniko]] in Dadu in 1294. Collections of the [[National Palace Museum]])</small>
 | image2 = Beihai Park-Qiongdao Island.jpg
 | width2 = 200
 | caption2 = The White [[stupa|Dagoba]] on Qionghua Island in [[Beihai Park]]. On his first visit to Beijing in 1261, Kublai Khan stayed on this island, which was then a suburb of the city. He liked the [[Taiye Lake|surroundings]] and ordered that the new city be built around the island.}}
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 | caption1 = Map showing Dadu's city walls (''black'') and the imperial city (''red''), a partial outline of '''Zhongdu''' (''dashed green'') and the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] & [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] city walls (''grey''). The Jinshui and Gaoliang rivers were made into a string of lakes and drained by the Tonghui Channel to the south.
 | image2 = Beijing gulou - zhonglou.jpg
 | width2 = 145
 | caption2 = The Beijing [[Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing)|Drum Tower]], first built in 1272, marked the geographic center of Dadu. Di'anmen Outer Avenue still forms part of the city's north–south central axis.
}}
When [[Kublai Khan]], the grandson of [[Genghis Khan]], visited Yanjing in 1261, much of the city lay in ruin,<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 134</ref> so he stayed in the Daning Palace on Qionghua Island.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 56</ref> Unlike other Mongol leaders who wanted to retain the [[Khamag Mongol|traditional tribal confederation]] based in [[Karakorum]] in [[Outer Mongolia]], Kublai Khan was eager to become the emperor of a cosmopolitan empire. He spent the next four years waging and winning a [[Mongol Empire#Mongolian Civil War|civil war]] against rival Mongol chieftains and in 1264 ordered advisor [[Liu Bingzhong]] to build his new capital at Yanjing. In 1260, he had already begun construction of his capital at [[Xanadu, Inner Mongolia|Xanadu]], some {{convert|275|km|abbr=on}} due north of Beijing on the [[Luan River]] in present-day [[Inner Mongolia]], but he preferred the location of Beijing. With the [[North China Plain]] opening to the south and the steppes just beyond the mountain passes to the north, Beijing was an ideal midway point for Kublai Khan's new seat of power.

In 1271, he declared the creation of the [[Yuan dynasty]] and named his capital '''[[Khanbaliq|Dadu]]''' ({{lang|zh|大都}}, [[Chinese written language|Chinese]] for "Grand Capital",<ref name="economist">{{cite news|title=Beijing — Historical Background |url=http://www.economist.com/cities/findstory.cfm?city_id=BJS&folder=Facts-History |series=Cities Guide |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522144445/http://www.economist.com/cities/findstory.cfm?city_id=BJS&folder=Facts-History |archive-date=May 22, 2007 }}</ref> or ''Daidu'' to the Mongols<ref>Denis Twitchett, Herbert Franke, John K. Fairbank, in ''The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p 454.</ref>). It is also known by the Mongol name '''Khanbaliq''' ({{lang|zh|汗八里}}), spelled ''Cambuluc'' in [[Marco Polo]]'s [[Il Milione|account]]. Construction of Dadu began in 1267 and the first palace was finished the next year. The entire palace complex was completed in 1274 and the rest of the city by 1285.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 136</ref> In 1279, when Mongol armies [[Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty|finished off]] the last of the Song dynasty in southern China, Beijing became for the first time, the [[Historical capitals of China|capital of the whole of China]]. After the construction of Dadu, Xanadu, also known as Shangdu, became Kublai Khan's [[summer capital]].
[[File:北京孔庙.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Beijing Temple of Confucius|Confucius Temple]] in [[Dongcheng District, Beijing|Dongcheng District]], firstly built in 1302 under [[Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan|Temür Khan (Emperor Chengzong)]] is the second largest in China. The temple houses 198 stone tabulets engraved with the names of 51,624 ''[[Jinshi (imperial examination)|jinshi]]'' scholars of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.]]
Rather than continuing on the foundation of Zhongdu, the new capital Dadu was shifted to the northeast and built around the old Daning Palace on Qionghua Island in the middle of the [[Taiye Lake]]. This move set in place Beijing's current north–south central axis. Dadu was nearly twice the size of Zhongdu. It stretched from present-day [[Chang'an Avenue]] in the south to the [[Beijing city walls|earthen Dadu city walls]] that still stand in northern and northeastern Beijing, between the northern [[3rd Ring Road (Beijing)|3rd]] and [[4th Ring Road]]s.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=zh:元大都土城遗址公园|url=http://www.tuniu.com/places/17645|work=Tuniu.com|access-date=2008-06-15|language=zh}}</ref> The city had earthen walls 24 m thick and 11 city gates, two in the north and three each in the other cardinal directions. Later, the Ming dynasty lined portions of Dadu's eastern and western walls with brick and retained four of the gates. Thus, Dadu had the same width as the Beijing of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The geographic center of the Dadu was marked with a pavilion, which is now the [[Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing)|Drum Tower]].

The most striking physical feature of Dadu was the string of lakes in the heart of the city. These lakes were created from the Jinshui River{{refn|Although called a river, the Jinshui was actually a [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin]]-era canal<ref name=9drags>Hou, Eve. "[http://www.chs.ubc.ca/china/part1.pdf Nine Dragons, One River: The Role of Institutions in Developing Water Pricing Policy in Beijing, PRC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215083748/http://www.chs.ubc.ca/china/part1.pdf |date=2017-02-15 }}", p. 6. Univ. of British Columbia, 2001.</ref> delivering water from a spring on Yuquan Mountain to the capital.}} inside the city.<ref name="h2story"/> They are now known as the six seas ("hai") of central Beijing: Houhai, Qianhai, and Xihai (the Rear, Front, and Western Seas) which are collectively known as [[Shichahai]]; [[Beihai Park|Beihai]] (the North Sea); and Zhonghai and Nanhai which are collectively known as [[Zhongnanhai]]. Qionghua Island is now the island in Beihai Park on which the White Dagoba stands. Like [[Zhongnanhai|today's Chinese leaders]], the Yuan imperial family lived west of the lakes in the Xingsheng (兴圣宫) and Longfu (隆福宫) Palaces.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 146</ref> A third palace east of the lakes, called the Danei (大内), at the site of the later [[Forbidden City]], housed the imperial offices. The city's construction drew builders from all over the Mongols' Asian empire, including local Chinese as well as those from places such as Nepal and Central Asia.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 77</ref> [[Liu Bingzhong]] was appointed as the supervisor of the construction of the imperial city and a chief architect was [[Yeheidie'erding]]. The pavilions of the palaces took on various architectural styles from across the empire. The entire palace complex occupied the south central portion of Dadu. Following Chinese tradition, the temples for ancestral rites and harvest rites were built, respectively, to west and east of the palace.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 138</ref>

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 | header = [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] of Beijing
 | image1 = Beijing Shichahai 1.jpg
 | width1 = 220
 | caption1 = [[Shichahai]], part of the Old Beijing section of the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]]
 | image3 = Baliqiao, Tongzhou (02).jpg
 | width3 = 220
 | caption3 = [[Baliqiao]] over the Tonghui section of the Grand Canal in [[Tongzhou District, Beijing|Tongzhou District]]
}}
The inclusion of the Jinshui and Gaoliang rivers gave Dadu a larger supply of water than the Lotus Pool which had nourished Ji, Youzhou, and Nanjing for the previous 2,000 years.<ref name="h2story"/> To boost water supply even more, Yuan hydrologist [[Guo Shoujing]] built channels to draw additional spring water from Yuquan Mountain in the northwest through what is today the [[Kunming Lake]] of the [[Summer Palace]] through the [[Purple Bamboo Park]] to Jishuitan, which was a large reservoir inside Dadu.<ref name="Hou 1998 63">[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 63</ref> The expansion and extension of the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]] from Dadu to [[Hangzhou]] enabled the city to import greater volumes of grain to sustain a larger population. The completion of the Tonghui Canal in 1293 allowed barges from Tongzhou to sail through the city right to the gates of the imperial palace at [[Shichahai]]. In 1270, Dadu had a population of 418,000 and another 635,000 in the surrounding region.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> By 1327, the city had 952,000 residents with another 2.08 million in the surrounding region.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}

The city's residential districts were laid out in a checkerboard pattern divided by avenues 25 m in width and narrow alleyways, called ''[[hutongs]]'', 6–7 m wide.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 136–37</ref> One of the best surviving examples of such a district is [[Dongsi Subdistrict, Beijing|Dongsi Subdistrict]], which has 14 parallel hutongs, called the 14 ''tiao'' of Dongsi. The name ''hutong'' is unique to the Yuan-era city; in older neighborhoods that date to the Liao and Jin eras, narrow lanes are called ''jie'' or streets. Each of the large avenues had underground sewers which carried rain and refuse to the south of the city.<ref>[[#Hou|Hou 1998]]: 73–74</ref> The main markets were located in Dongsi, [[Xisi]] and along the north shore of Jishuitan.<ref name="Hou 1998 63"/>

As Kublai Khan had intended, the city was a showcase of the cosmopolitan Yuan Empire. A number of foreign travelers including [[Giovanni di Monte Corvino]], [[Odoric of Pordenone]], [[Marco Polo]] and [[Ibn Battuta]] left written accounts of visits to the city. Some of the most famous writers of the Yuan era including [[Ma Zhiyuan]], [[Guan Hanqing]] and [[Wang Shifu]], lived in Dadu. The Mongols commissioned the building of an Islamic observatory and Islamic academy. The [[Miaoying Temple|White Stupa Temple]] near Fuchengmen was commissioned by Kublai Khan in 1271. Its famous white stupa was designed by Nepali architect [[Araniko]], and remains one of the biggest [[stupa]]s in China.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120713221554/http://english.cri.cn/4406/2008/07/29/1942s386831.htm " White Pagoda Temple" ''CRI''] July 29, 2009</ref> The [[Beijing Confucius Temple|Confucius Temple]] and [[Guozijian (Beijing)|Guozijian (Imperial Academy)]] were founded during the reign of [[Temür Khan|Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong]], Kublai's successor.

Yuan rule was severely weakened by a succession struggle in 1328 known as the [[War of the Two Capitals]] in which the [[Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür|Dadu-based claimant]] to the throne prevailed over his [[Ragibagh Khan|Shangdu-based rival]], but not after heavy fighting around Dadu and across the country among Mongol princes.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PDjWpqU55eMC&q=%22two+capitals%22&pg=PA40 David M. Robinson, ''Empire's Twilight: Northeast Asia Under the Mongols'', Harvard University Press, 2009] 39</ref>

==Ming dynasty==
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Yongle-Emperor1.jpg
 | width1 = 150
 | caption1 = The [[Yongle Emperor]] moved the capital of the Ming dynasty from Nanjing to Beijing in 1421. He commissioned the [[Forbidden City]], which was built from 1406 to 1420.
 | image2 = Verbotene-Stadt1500.jpg
 | width2 = 150
 | caption2 =The Beijing Palace City Scroll, depicting the Forbidden City, 15th century.
}}
In 1368, [[Hongwu Emperor|Zhu Yuanzhang]] founded the [[Ming dynasty]] in the [[Nanjing]] on the [[Yangtze River]] and his general [[Xu Da]] drove north and captured Dadu. The [[List of Yuan emperors|last]] [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan emperor]] [[Northern Yuan dynasty|fled to the steppes]]. Dadu's imperial palace was razed and the city was renamed '''Beiping''' (北平 or "Northern Peace").<ref>''See'' Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. {{ISBN|0-521-66991-X}} ''and [[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 23</ref> Nanjing, also known as ''Yingtian Fu'' became the ''Jingshi'' or the capital of the new dynasty. Two years later, Zhu Yuanzhang conferred Beiping to his fourth son, [[Zhu Di]], who at the age of ten became the [[Prince of Yan]]. Zhu Di did not move to Beiping until 1380 but quickly built up his military power in defense of the northern frontier. His three older brothers all predeceased his father who died in 1398. The throne was passed on to [[Zhu Yunwen]], the son of [[Zhu Biao|Zhu Di's oldest brother]]. The new emperor sought to curtail his uncle's power in Beiping, and a bitter power struggle ensued. In 1402, after a four-year [[Jingnan Campaign|civil war]], Zhu Di seized Nanjing and declared himself the [[Yongle Emperor]]. As the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, he was not content to stay in Nanjing. He executed hundreds in Nanjing for remaining loyal to his predecessor, who was reportedly killed in a palace fire but was rumored to have escaped. The Yongle Emperor sent his eunuch [[Zheng He]] on the [[Treasure voyages|famed voyages overseas]] in part to investigate the rumors of the [[Jianwen Emperor]] abroad.

In 1403, the Yongle Emperor renamed his home base '''Beijing''' (北京, the "Northern Capital"), and elevated the city to the status of capital, on par with Nanjing. For the first time, Beijing took on its modern name, while the [[Fu (administrative division)|prefecture]] around the city gained the new name '''Shuntian Fu''' (顺天府).<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=An Illustrated Survey of Dikes and Dams in Jianghan Region|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4451|publisher=[[World Digital Library]]|access-date=9 May 2013}}</ref> From 1403 to 1420, Yongle prepared his new capital with a massive reconstruction program. Some of Beijing's most iconic historical buildings, including the [[Forbidden City]] and the [[Temple of Heaven]], were built for Yongle's capital. The [[Temple of the Sun (Beijing)|Temples of the Sun]], [[Temple of Earth|Earth]] and [[Temple of the Moon (China)|Moon]] were later added by the [[Daoist]] [[Jiajing Emperor]] in 1530.

In 1421, Yongle moved the ''Jingshi'' of the Ming to Beijing, which made Beijing the main capital of the Ming dynasty. From Beijing, Yongle launched [[Yongle Emperor's campaigns against the Mongols|multiple campaigns against the Mongols]]. After he died in 1424, his son, the [[Hongxi Emperor]], ordered the capital be moved back to Nanjing, but died of illness in 1425.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.tianyabook.com/lishi/jianqiaozhonguoshi/jianqiaozhongguomingdaishi/15.html "洪熙统治时期" 《剑桥中国明代史》] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207131555/http://www.tianyabook.com/lishi/jianqiaozhonguoshi/jianqiaozhongguomingdaishi/15.html |date=2013-12-07 }} Accessed 2012-01-05</ref> The Hongxi Emperor sent his son, the future [[Xuande Emperor]], to Nanjing to prepare for the move, but the latter chose to keep the capital in Beijing after his accession to the throne.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.tianyabook.com/lishi/jianqiaozhonguoshi/jianqiaozhongguomingdaishi/16.html "宣德统治时期" 《剑桥中国明代史》] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207131425/http://www.tianyabook.com/lishi/jianqiaozhonguoshi/jianqiaozhongguomingdaishi/16.html |date=2013-12-07 }} Accessed 2012-01-05</ref> Like his grandfather, the Xuande Emperor was interested in monitoring affairs on the northern frontier. Most of the [[Great Wall]] in northern Beijing Municipality were built during the Ming dynasty.

{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Beijing city wall map vectorized.svg
 | width1 = 190
 | caption1 = Plan of Beijing showing the [[Forbidden City]] inside the [[Imperial City (Beijing)|Imperial City]], as well as the Inner and Outer Cities.
 | image2 = BeijingTiananmenSquaregatepicture2.jpg
 | width2 = 190
 | caption2 =Much of the Ming city walls were torn down in the 1960s. The Zhengyang Gate (Qianmen) and its iconic archery tower is one of the few sections remaining.
 | image3 = 北京城东南角楼.jpg
 | width3 = 190
 | caption3 =The Ming city wall's [[Southeast Corner Tower]] near Dongbianmen.
}}
{{multiple image
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 | header = [[UNESCO World Heritage Sites]] of Beijing
 | image1 = 20090529 Great Wall 8125.jpg
 | width1 = 220
 | caption1 = [[Great Wall of China]]
 | image2 = Forbidden city 07.jpg
 | width2 = 220
 | caption2 = The Hall of Supreme Harmony of the [[Forbidden City]]
 | image3 = TempleHeaven2.jpg
 | width3 = 220
 | caption3 = [[Temple of Heaven]]
 | image4 = Mingdynastytombs3.jpg
 | width4 = 220
 | caption4 = [[Ming Tombs]]
}}
In the early Ming dynasty, the northern part of old Dadu was depopulated and abandoned. In 1369, the city's population had been reduced to 95,000, with only 113,000 in the surrounding region.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> A new northern wall was built {{convert|2.5|km|abbr=on}} to the south of the old wall, leaving the Jishuitan reservoir outside the city as part of the northern moat. A new southern wall for the city was built half a kilometer south of the southern Dadu wall. These changes completed the [[Beijing city fortifications#Inner city|Inner City wall]] of Beijing, which had nine gates (three in the south and two each to the north, east and west).

The Inner City walls withstood a major test following the [[Tumu Crisis]] of 1449 when the [[Zhengtong Emperor]] was captured by [[Oirats|Oirat Mongols]] during a military campaign near [[Huailai]]. The Oirat chieftain, [[Esen Tayisi]], then drove through the Great Wall and marched on the Ming capital with the captive emperor in hand. Defense Minister [[Yu Qian]] rejected Esen's demands for ransom despite the Zhengtong Emperor's pleadings. Yu said the responsibility to protect the country took precedence over the Emperor's life. He rejected calls by other officials to move the capital to the South and instead elevated the Zhengtong Emperor's [[Jingtai Emperor|younger half-brother]] to the throne and assembled 220,000 troops to defend the city. Ming forces with firearms and cannons ambushed the Mongol cavalry outside [[Deshengmen]], killing Esen's brother in the barrage, and repelled another attack on Xizhimen. Esen retreated to Mongolia and three years later, returned the captive Zhengtong Emperor with no ransom paid. In 1457, the Zhengtong Emperor reclaimed the throne and had Yu Qian executed for treason. Yu Qian's home near [[Dongdan, Beijing|Dongdan]] was later made into a temple in his honor.<ref>''See'' [http://china.org.cn/english/features/beijing/31031.htm ''Yu Qian Memorial Temple''] [http://china.org.cn/english/2003/Aug/72299.htm ''Old Beijing: Protected or Razed?''], ''and'' [http://www.jxnews.com.cn/oldnews/n1034/ca716016.htm ''北京市级文物于谦祠将坚持原址保护(图) ''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007014229/http://www.jxnews.com.cn/oldnews/n1034/ca716016.htm |date=2011-10-07 }} with picture of temple</ref>

Back in power, the Zhengtong Emperor, now ruling under the new [[Chinese era name|era name]] of Tianshun, first promoted and then became distrustful of officials who had aided his restoration. One of them, the grand [[eunuch]] Cao Jixiang, decided to strike at the throne. In August 1461, Cao's adopted son, [[Rebellion of Cao Qin|Cao Qin, launched a mutiny]] among ethnic Mongol troops stationed inside Beijing.<ref name=CaoJixiang>(Chinese) [http://www.39cx.com/today/YW85Yw==.html 中国明朝大太监曹吉祥发动叛乱失败] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234452/http://www.39cx.com/today/YW85Yw==.html |date=2013-12-30 }} Accessed 2013-03-28</ref> The plot was betrayed and the Tianshun Emperor ordered the gates of the Forbidden City and the Inner City closed, trapping the mutineers, who were unable to break into the palace complex and were killed.<ref name=CaoJixiang/>

In 1550, [[Altan Khan]] led a [[Khalkha|Khalkha Mongol]] raid on Beijing that pillaged the northern suburbs but did not attempt to take the city. To protect the city's southern suburbs, including neighborhoods from the Liao and Jin-eras and the Temple of Heaven, the [[Beijing city fortifications#Outer city|Outer City wall]] was built in 1553. The Outer City wall had seven gates, three to the south, two each to the east and west. The Inner and Outer [[Beijing city wall|Ming city walls]] stood until in the 1960s when all but a couple small sections were pulled down to build the [[Beijing Subway]] and the [[2nd Ring Road]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Renewal of Ming Dynasty City Wall|url=http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2003-02/knowyourbeijing/ming|work=Beijing This Month|date=2003-02-01|access-date=2008-06-14|url-status=usurped|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517063753/http://www.btmbeijing.com/contents/en/btm/2003-02/knowyourbeijing/ming|archive-date=2016-05-17}}</ref> The largest and best-preserved section of the wall is located in the [[Ming City Wall Relics Park]] near the southeast corner of the inner city.
[[File:Observatoire de Peking.jpg|thumb|left|Beijing's [[Beijing Ancient Observatory|Ancient Observatory]], established in 1442, as depicted by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville in 1737. In the Qing dynasty, Jesuit directors of the observatory, [[Johann Adam Schall von Bell]] and [[Ferdinand Verbiest]], built many of the instruments.]]

[[Jesuit China missions|Jesuit missions]] reached Beijing at the turn of the 16th century. In 1601, [[Matteo Ricci]] became an advisor to the imperial court of the [[Wanli Emperor]] and became the first Westerner to have access to the Forbidden City.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/beijing/31024.htm "The Tomb of Matteo Ricci" ''Beijing A Guide to China's Capital City''] Accessed 2010-10-05</ref> He established the [[Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Beijing|Nantang Cathedral]] in 1605, the oldest surviving [[Roman Catholicism in China|Catholic church]] in the city. Other Jesuits later became directors of [[Beijing Ancient Observatory|Beijing's Imperial Observatory]].

On the eve of the Tumu Crisis in 1448, the city had 960,000 residents with another 2.19 million living in the surrounding region.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> Beijing was the [[List of largest cities throughout history|largest city in the world]] from 1425 to 1635 and from 1710 to 1825.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosenburg|first=Matt T|title=Largest Cities Through History|url=http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm|publisher=[[About.com]]|access-date=2006-09-10|archive-date=2016-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818124242/http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> To feed the growing population, Ming authorities built and administered granaries, including the [[The Imperial Granary|Imperial Granary]] and Jingtong storehouses near the terminus of the Grand Canal, which fed a growing population and sustained the military. The granaries helped control prices and prevent inflation, but price controls became less effective as the population grew and demand for food exceeded supply.

Until the mid-15th century, Beijing residents relied on wood for heating and cooking. The growing population led to massive logging of the forests around the city. By the mid-15th century, the forests had largely disappeared. As a substitute, residents turned to coal, which was first mined in the [[Western Hills]] during the Yuan dynasty and expanded in the Ming. The use of coal caused many environmental problems and changed the ecological system around the city.

During the Ming dynasty, 15 epidemic outbreaks occurred in the city of Beijing including smallpox, "pimple plague" and "vomit blood plague" - the latter two were possibly bubonic plague and pneumonic plague. In most cases, the public health system functioned well in gaining control of the outbreaks, except in 1643. That year, epidemics claimed 200,000 lives in Beijing, thus compromising the defense of the city from the attacks of the peasant rebels and contributing to the downfall of the dynasty.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, banditry was common near Beijing despite the presence of imperial government. Due to inadequate supervision and economic privation, imperial troops in the capital region to protect the throne would often turn to [[brigandage]]. Officials responsible for eradicating banditry often had ties to brigands and other marginal elements of Ming society.<ref>David M. Robinson, "Banditry and the Subversion of State Authority in China: the Capital Region During the Middle Ming Period (1450–1525)." ''Journal of Social History'' 2000 33(3): 527-563. {{ISSN|0022-4529}} Fulltext: [[Project MUSE]]</ref>

During the late Ming dynasty, Beijing faced threats from both within and beyond the Great Wall. In 1629, the [[Manchus]], who were descendants of the Jurchens, raided Beijing from the [[Manchuria]], but were defeated outside the outer city walls at Guangqumen and Zuoanmen by Ming commander [[Yuan Chonghuan]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.bjdfz.gov.cn/ShowNewsLevel3.jsp?NewsID=2089 "北京的城门之战及影响" 《北京地方志》] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306181226/http://www.bjdfz.gov.cn/ShowNewsLevel3.jsp?NewsID=2089 |date=2013-03-06 }} 2011-10-25</ref> After retreating north, Manchu leader, [[Hong Taiji]], through treachery, deceived the Ming dynasty's [[Chongzhen Emperor]] into believing that Yuan Chonghuan had actually betrayed the Ming. In 1630, the Chongzhen Emperor had Yuan executed in public at [[Caishikou Execution Grounds|Caishikou]] through [[Slow slicing|death by a thousand cuts]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.chnmuseum.cn/Default.aspx?TabId=138&InfoID=18552&frtid=111&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 "走出戏说的迷雾看皇太极" 《辽沈晚报》] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231134507/http://www.chnmuseum.cn/(S(n51nrwmo5mx1rdjnbbtcrlnh))/Default.aspx?TabId=138&InfoID=18552&frtid=111&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 |date=2013-12-31 }} 2010-10-20</ref> Yuan was rehabilitated 150 years later by the [[Qianlong Emperor]] of the [[Qing dynasty]] and his tomb near Guangqumen is now a shrine.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.china.com.cn/culture/zhuanti/2009-05/19/content_17800167_3.htm "龙潭湖的故事"] 2009-05-19</ref>

Also in 1629, [[Li Zicheng]] launched a peasant rebellion in northwest China and, after 15 years of conquest, [[Battle of Beijing (1644)|captured Beijing]] in March 1644. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide by hanging himself from a [[Guilty Chinese Scholartree|tree]] in [[Jingshan Park|Jingshan]]. Li proclaimed himself emperor of the [[Shun dynasty]], but he was defeated at [[Shanhaiguan District|Shanhaiguan]] by Ming general [[Wu Sangui]] and the [[Manchu]] Prince [[Dorgon]]. Wu had defected to the Manchus and allowed them inside the Great Wall. They drove Li Zicheng from Beijing in late April.

{{Panorama
|image = File:Departure Herald-Ming Dynasty.jpg
|height = 150px
|caption = The panorama painting "Departure Herald", painted during the reign of the [[Jiajing Emperor]] (1521−1567 AD), shows the emperor traveling on horseback with a large escort through the countryside from Beijing's Imperial City to the Ming dynasty tombs. Beginning with Yongle, thirteen Ming emperors were buried in the [[Ming Tombs]] of present-day [[Changping District]].
|dir = rtl}}

==Qing dynasty==
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1 = Dorgon, the Prince Rui (17th century).jpg
 | width1 = 180
 | caption1 = [[Prince regent]] [[Dorgon]], who led the [[Manchu]]s south of the Great Wall and seized Beijing in 1644.
 | image2 = The Emperor is presented with prisoners at the Wumen (Middlegate).jpg
 | width2 = 245
 | caption2 = Dorgon preserved trappings of imperial power including the bureaucracy, rituals and palaces, and moved the Qing capital to Beijing. In so doing, he positioned the Qing as the political heir to the Ming and legitimate ruler of China. Above, Qing imperial procession at the Forbidden City depicted in an 18th-century Jesuit painting.
}}
[[File:Beijing in Ming and Qing Dynasties.jpg|350px|thumb|Map of Beijing in Qing Dynasty]]
On May 3, 1644, the Manchus seized Beijing in the name of freeing the city from the rebel forces of [[Li Zicheng]].<ref name=QingHistory1>(Chinese) [http://www.btxx.cn.net/lssj/index_0601.htm 清代时期 I] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723045652/http://www.btxx.cn.net/lssj/index_0601.htm |date=2011-07-23 }} Accessed 2010-06-02</ref> Dorgon held a state funeral for the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] of the Ming dynasty and reappointed many Ming officials. In October, he moved the child [[Shunzhi Emperor]] from the old capital [[Shenyang]] into the Forbidden City and made Beijing the new seat of the [[Qing dynasty]]. In the following decades, the Manchus would conquer the rest of the country and ruled China for nearly three centuries from the city.<ref name="britannica ming qing">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Beijing - History - The Ming and Qing Dynasties|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448956/Beijing/14708/Centuries-of-growth#toc=toc14709|encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|year=2008}}</ref> During this era, Beijing was also known as '''Jingshi''' which corresponds with the Manchu name '''Gemun Hecen'''.<ref>[[#Elliott|Elliott 2001]]: 98</ref> The city's population, which had fallen to 144,000 in 1644, rebounded to 539,000 in 1647 (the population of the surrounding area rose from 554,000 to 1.3 million).{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/>

The Qing largely retained the physical configuration of Beijing inside the city walls. Each of the [[Eight Banners]], including the Manchu, Mongol, and Han Banners were assigned to guard and live near the eight gates of the Inner City.<ref name=QingHistory1/> Outside the city, the Qing court seized large tracts of land for Manchu noble estates.<ref name=QingHistory1/> Northwest of the city, Qing emperors built several large palatial gardens. In 1684, the [[Kangxi Emperor]] built the Changchun Garden on the site of the Ming dynasty's Qinghua (or Tsinghua) Garden (outside today's west gate of Peking University). In the early 18th century, he began building the [[Old Summer Palace|Yuanmingyuan]], also known as the "Old Summer Palace", which the [[Qianlong Emperor]] expanded with European [[Baroque]]-style garden pavilions. In 1750, the Qianlong Emperor built the [[Summer Palace|Yiheyuan]], commonly referred to as the "Summer Palace". The two summer palaces represent both the culmination of Qing imperial splendor and its decline. Both were ransacked and razed by invading Western powers in the late Qing dynasty.

The [[Beijing dialect]] eventually became the official national language for the country. In the early Qing dynasty, [[Han Chinese|Han]] officials serving in the imperial court were required to learn the [[Manchu language]], but most Manchus eventually learned to speak Chinese.<ref name="Mandarin">(Chinese) [http://history.people.com.cn/GB/205396/15194538.html 明清皇帝上朝是说北京话吗？ 《北京晨报》] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521075650/http://history.people.com.cn/GB/205396/15194538.html |date=2012-05-21 }} 2011-07-19</ref> The Manchus adopted Beijing Mandarin as their spoken language and this was a feature of Manchu Banner garrisons in areas of southern China. In 1728, the [[Yongzheng Emperor]], who could not understand officials from southern China, decreed that all takers of the civil service examination must be able to speak Beijing Mandarin.<ref name="Mandarin"/><ref>{{cite book |last= Kaske|first= Elisabeth|title= The Politics of Language in Chinese Education, 1895-1919|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okhrBBmnHVQC&q=yongzheng+1728+dialect&pg=PA48|access-date= 2012-12-16|year=2008|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004163676|pages=48–49}} & {{cite book |last= Rowe|first= William T.|title= Saving the World: Chen Hongmou and Elite Consciousness in Eighteenth-Century China|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VRSXz25X5P8C&q=pronunciation&pg=PA564|access-date=2012-12-16|year=2008|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804748186|page=48}}</ref> Though the decree was eventually lifted under the [[Jiaqing Emperor]], the Beijing dialect spread first among officials and then among commoners under subsequent regimes.<ref name="Mandarin"/> Shortly after the founding of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]], the [[Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation]] made the Beijing dialect the national standard for [[Standard Chinese|spoken Chinese]] in 1913. After the capital was moved to Nanjing, [[National Languages Committee]] reaffirmed the Beijing dialect as the standard in 1932. The People's Republic of China followed suit in 1955.<ref name="Mandarin"/>

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | header = [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] of Beijing
 | image1 = Summer Palace 1888.jpg
 | width1 = 250
 | caption1 = 1888 water color pictorial map of the [[Summer Palace]]
 | image2 = Iheuan-2005-1.JPG
 | width2 = 250
 | caption2 =Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake
}}
The Qing dynasty maintained a relatively stable supply of food for the population of the capital during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The government's grain tribute system brought food from the provinces and kept grain prices stable. Soup kitchens provided relief to the needy. The secure food supply helped the Qing court maintain a degree of political stability.<ref>Lillian M. Li and Alison Dray-Novey, "Guarding Beijing's Food Security in the Qing Dynasty: State, Market, and Police." ''Journal of Asian Studies'' 1999 58(4): 992-1032. {{ISSN|0021-9118}} Fulltext: [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2658493 Jstor]</ref> Temple fairs such as the Huguo Fair, which are like monthly bazaars held around temples, added to the commercial vibrance of the city. At the height of the Qianlong Emperor's reign in 1781, the city had a population of 776,242 (and another 2.18 million in the surrounding region).{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> Thereafter, Qing authorities began to restrict inward migration to the city.{{sfn|Han|1996|pp=315–19}} A century later, the census of 1881–82 showed similar figures of 776,111 and 2.45 million.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/>

In 1790, the Qing court's Nanfu office, which was in charge of organizing entertainment for the emperor, invited the dramatic [[Huiju|opera troupes from Anhui]] to perform for the Qianlong Emperor. Under the Qianlong Emperor, the Nanfu had up to a thousand employees, including actors, musicians, and court eunuchs. In 1827, the [[Daoguang Emperor]], the Qianlong Emperor's grandson, changed the name from Nanfu to Shengpingshu, and reduced the number of performances.<ref>Xiaoqing Ye, "Imperial Institutions and Drama in the Qing Court." ''European Journal of East Asian Studies'' 2003 2(2): 329-364. {{ISSN|1568-0584}} Fulltext: [[EBSCO Information Services|Ebsco]]</ref> Nevertheless, the court invited [[Music of Hubei|opera troupes from Hubei]] came to perform. The Anhui and Hubei operatic styles eventually blended together in the mid-19th century to form [[Peking Opera]].

Most of Beijing's oldest business establishments date to the Qing era. [[Tongrentang]], opened in 1669 by a royal physician, became the sole supplier of herbal medicine to the Qing court in 1723. Baikui Laohao, the Hui Muslim restaurant serving traditional [[Beijing cuisine]], opened its first store next to the Longfu Temple in 1780. Roast duck was part of the imperial menu dating back to the Yuan dynasty and restaurants serving ''[[American Pekin duck|Anas peking]]'' to the public opened in the 15th century, but it was [[Quanjude]], which opened in 1864 and introduced the "hung oven", that made [[Peking Duck]] world-famous.

In 1813, some 200 adherents of the [[White Lotus Societies|White Lotus]] sect launched a [[Eight Trigrams Uprising of 1813|surprise siege]] on the Forbidden City but were repelled.<ref name=QingHistory1/> In response, authorities imposed the [[baojia]] system of social surveillance and control.

The British diplomat [[George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney|Lord Macartney's]] [[Macartney Embassy|mission to China]] arrived in Beijing in 1792, but failed to persuade the Qianlong Emperor to ease trade restrictions or to permit a permanent British Embassy in the city. Nevertheless, Macartney observed weaknesses within the Qing regime, which would influence [[Opium Wars|future Sino-British conflicts]].{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

{{multiple image
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 | header = The [[Second Opium War]]
| footer = Left:Illustration by Godefroy Durand on December 22, 1860, depicting the sacking of a Baroque-style hall in the [[Old Summer Palace]] during the Second Opium War. Right: The ruins of the Old Summer Palace
 | image1 = Looting of the Yuan Ming Yuan by Anglo French forces in 1860.jpg
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{{multiple image
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| footer = Left: U.S. Army depiction of the assault on Beijing's [[Southeast Corner Tower]] near Dongbianmen on August 14, 1900. Right: Foreign armies of the [[Eight-Nation Alliance]] assemble inside the Forbidden City after capturing Beijing.
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In 1860, during the [[Second Opium War]], Anglo-French expeditionary forces defeated a Qing army [[Battle of Baliqiao|at Baliqiao]] east of Beijing. They captured the city and sacked the [[Summer Palace]] and [[Old Summer Palace]]. [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin|Lord Elgin]], the commander of the expedition, ordered the burning of the Old Summer Palace in retaliation of Qing mistreatment of Western prisoners. He spared the Forbidden City, saving it as a venue for the treaty-signing ceremony. Under the [[Convention of Peking]] that ended the war, the Qing government was forced to allow Western powers to establish permanent diplomatic presence in the city. The foreign embassies were based southeast of the Forbidden City in the [[Beijing Legation Quarter]].

{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | image1 = BeijinExamHall.png
| width1 = 220
 | caption1 = The Imperial Examination Hall (Gongyuan) in 1909. For centuries, students flocked to the capital each year to take the [[imperial examination]], and spent days in densely packed cubicles. Highest scorers received degrees and government positions. The exams were abolished in 1905 as part of the education reforms.
| image2 = W. A. P. Martin & faculty.jpg
| width2 = 220
| caption2 = Faculty of the Imperial University of Peking, the institutional predecessor of [[Peking University]].
| image3 = Bundesarchiv Bild 137-023958, Tsing-Hua College in Peking.jpg
| width3 = 220
| caption3 = Grand Auditorium of [[Tsinghua University]], established by the [[Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship Program|Boxer Indemnity Scholar Program]].
| image4 = Bundesarchiv Bild 137-023959, Rodfeller Institut in Peking.jpg
| width4 = 220
| caption4 = The [[Peking Union Medical College]], founded in 1906 by the American and British missionaries, remains one of China's top medical schools.
}}

In 1886, [[Empress Dowager Cixi]] had the [[Summer Palace]] rebuilt using funds originally designated for the imperial navy, the [[Beiyang Fleet]].<ref name=QingHistory1/> After the Qing government was defeated by Japan in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] and forced to sign the humiliating [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]], [[Kang Youwei]] assembled 1,300 scholars outside [[Xuanwumen (Beijing)|Xuanwumen]] to protest the treaty and drafted a 10,000-character appeal to the [[Guangxu Emperor]]. In June 1898, the Guangxu Emperor adopted the proposals of Kang Youwei, [[Liang Qichao]] and other scholars and launched the [[Hundred Days' Reform]]. The reforms alarmed Empress Dowager Cixi, who, with the help of [[Ronglu]] and [[Beiyang]] military commander [[Yuan Shikai]], launched a [[coup]]. The Guangxu Emperor was imprisoned, Kang and Liang fled abroad, and [[Tan Sitong]] and [[Six gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform|five other scholar reformers]] were publicly beheaded at Caishikou outside Xuanwumen. One legacy of the short-lived reform era was the founding of [[Peking University]] in 1898. The university would have a profound impact on the intellectual and political history of the city.

In 1898, a [[millenarism|millenarian]] group called the [[Boxer Rebellion|Righteous Harmony Society Movement]] formed in [[Shandong|Shandong Province]], calling for the expulsion of all foreign influence in China.<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 119–120</ref> They attacked Westerners especially missionaries and converted Chinese, and were called the "Boxers" by Westerners. The Qing court initially suppressed the Boxers but the Empress Dowager attempted to use them to curtail foreign influence and permitted them to gather in Beijing, then expelled the Boxers from the city after ransacking occurred and ordered the foreigners in the legations to leave to Tianjin, which they refused to do. In June 1900, the Qing forces including [[Hushenying|Manchu Bannerman]] and [[Kansu Braves|Muslim fighters from Gansu]] and the Boxers [[Siege of the International Legations|besieged]] the [[Beijing Legation Quarter|Legation Quarter]], which sheltered several hundred foreign civilians and soldiers and about 3,200 [[Chinese Christians]]. The first attempt by the foreign [[Eight-Nation Alliance]] in the [[Seymour Expedition]] was defeated and forces to turn back. On the second attempt, eventually [[Battle of Peking (1900)|they defeated the Boxers and Qing troops]] and lifted the siege. The foreign armies looted the city and occupied Beijing and the surrounding area in Zhili. Empress Dowager Cixi fled to [[Xi'an]] and did not return until after the Qing government had signed the [[Boxer Protocol]] which compelled it to pay [[Reparation (legal)|reparations]] of 450 million taels of silver with interest at four percent. The Boxer indemnities stripped the Qing government of much of its tax revenues and further weakened the state.<ref>Diana Preston, "The Boxer Rising." ''Asian Affairs'' 2000 31(1): 26-36. {{ISSN|0306-8374}} Fulltext: [[EBSCO Information Services|Ebsco]]</ref>

The United States used its portion of the proceeds to fund [[Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship Program|scholarships for Chinese students studying in America]]. In 1911, the Boxer Indemnity Scholar Program established the American Indemnity College in the Qinghua Gardens northwest of Beijing as a preparatory school for students planning to study abroad. In 1912, the school was renamed [[Tsinghua University]], and remains to this day, one of the finest [[List of universities in China|institutions of higher learning in China]].

After the Boxer Rebellion, the struggling Qing dynasty accelerated the pace of reform and became more receptive to foreign influence. The centuries-old [[imperial examination|imperial civil service examination]] was abolished in 1905, and replaced with a Western-style curriculum and degree system. Public education for women received greater emphasis and even drew support from reactionaries like the Empress Dowager.<ref>Weikun Cheng, "Going Public Through Education: Female Reformers and Girls' Schools in Late Qing Beijing." ''Late Imperial China'' 2000 21(1): 107-144. {{ISSN|0884-3236}} Fulltext: [[Project MUSE]]</ref> Beijing's school for girls in the late Qing period made unbound feet an entrance requirement. The Beijing Police Academy, founded in 1901 as China's first modern institution for police training, used Japanese instructors and became a model for police academies in other cities. The [[Peking Union Medical College]], founded by missionaries in 1906 and funded by the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] from 1915, set the standard for the training of nurses.<ref>Kaiyi Chen, "Quality Versus Quantity: the Rockefeller Foundation and Nurses' Training in China." ''Journal of American-East Asian Relations'' 1996 5(1): 77-104. {{ISSN|1058-3947}}</ref> The Metropolitan University Library in Beijing, founded in 1898, was China's first modern academic library devoted to serving public higher education.<ref>Jing Liao, "The Genesis of the Modern Academic Library in China: Western Influences and the Chinese Response." ''Libraries & Culture'' 2004 39(2): 161-174. {{ISSN|0894-8631}} Fulltext: [[Project MUSE]]</ref><ref>[http://www.bnu.edu.cn/pub/bei/administrationservices/4250.htm Beijing Normal University Library] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029183654/http://www.bnu.edu.cn/pub/bei/administrationservices/4250.htm |date=2010-10-29 }}</ref>

Also in 1905, the Board of Revenue and private investors founded the Hubu Bank, China's first central bank and largest modern bank.<ref>[[#Sheehan|Sheehan 2002]]: 52</ref> This bank was renamed the [[Bank of China]] after the Xinhai Revolution and began Beijing's tradition as the center of state banks in China. Large foreign banks including the [[The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation|Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC)]], [[Citibank#History|National City Bank (Citibank)]], [[Deutsch-Asiatische Bank]] and [[Yokohama Specie Bank]] opened branches in the Legation Quarter. The building of railroads was capital intensive and required large-scale financing and foreign expertise. Beijing's earliest railroads were designed, financed and built under the supervision of foreign concerns.

[[File:Peking environs 1912.jpg|thumb|left|1912 map of Beijing showing city walls, railways and stations. ''Nei Ch’eng'' refers to the Inner City and ''Nan Ch’eng'' refers to the Outer City.]]

The first railway in China was built in Beijing in 1864 by a British merchant to demonstrate the technology to the imperial court.<ref name=WangYong>(Chinese) [http://book.sina.com.cn/excerpt/sz/rw/2009-04-10/1740253833.shtml 王勇, "慈禧用太监拉火车酿世界铁路史最大笑话" 《皇城根下的京味文化》 时事出版社 ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424095353/http://book.sina.com.cn/excerpt/sz/rw/2009-04-10/1740253833.shtml |date=2014-04-24 }} 2009-04-10</ref> About 600 meters of tracks were laid outside Xuanwumen.<ref name=WangYong/> The steam locomotive shook the neighborhood and alarmed the capital guards.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kai0Ub0-2jwC&dq=beijing+1864+railroad&pg=PA13 James Zheng Gao, ''Meeting Technology's Advance: Social Change in China and Zimbabwe in the Railway Age'' Greenwood Publishing Group 1997] 13-14</ref> The Qing court looked on the strange contraption with disfavor and had the railway dismantled.<ref name=WangYong/> To secure the support of Empress Dowager Cixi for railway construction, [[Viceroy of Zhili|Viceroy]] [[Li Hongzhang]] imported a small train set from Germany and in 1888 built a 2-km [[narrow gauge]] railway from her residence in Zhongnanhai to her dining hall in Beihai.<ref name="Dong2002p35"/> The Empress, concerned that the locomotive's noise would disturb the [[geomancy]] or ''[[fengshui]]'' of the imperial city, required the train be pulled by [[eunuchs]] instead of steam engine.<ref name="Dong2002p35"/>

The city's first commercial railway, Tianjin-Lugouqiao Railway, was built from 1895 to 1897 with British financing.<ref name="Dong2002p35">[[#Dong 2002|Dong 2002]]: 35</ref> It ran from the Marco Polo Bridge to Tianjin. The rail terminus was extended closer to the city to [[Fengtai District|Fengtai]] and [[Kaiping Tramway and Imperial Railways of North China#History#A Peking (Beijing) terminus at Ma Chia Pu (Majiabao)|then to Majiapu]], just outside [[Yongdingmen]], a gate of the [[Beijing city fortifications|Outer City wall]].<ref name="Dong2002p35"/> The Qing court resisted the extension of railways inside city walls.<ref name="Dong2002p35"/> Foreign powers who seized the city during the Boxer Rebellion extended the railway inside the outer city wall to Yongdingmen in 1900 and then further north to [[Zhengyangmen]] (Qianmen) just outside the [[Beijing city fortifications|Inner City wall]] in 1903.<ref name="Dong2002p35"/> They built an eastern spur to [[Tongzhou District, Beijing|Tongzhou]] to carry grain shipped from the south on the Grand Canal. This extension breached the city wall at Dongbianmen.<ref name="Dong2002p35"/> The Lugouqiao-Hankou Railway, financed by French-Belgian capital and built from 1896 to 1905, was renamed [[Beijing-Hankou Railway]] after it was routed to Qianmen from the west.<ref name="Dong2002p36">[[#Dong 2002|Dong 2002]]: 36</ref> This required the partial demotion of the [[Xuanwumen (Beijing)|Xuanwumen]] [[barbican]]. The completion of the [[Beijing–Fengtian Railway]] in 1907 required a similar break in [[Chongwenmen]]'s fortification.<ref name="Dong2002p36"/> Thus, began the tearing down of city gates and walls to make way for rail transportation. The first railway in China built without foreign assistance was the [[Beijing-Baotou Railway|Imperial Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway]]. Built from 1905 to 1909, it was designed by [[Jeme Tien Yow|Zhan Tianyou]] and terminated just outside Xizhimen.<ref name="Dong2002p36"/> By the late Qing dynasty, Beijing had rail connections to [[Hankou]] (Wuhan), [[Pukou]] (Nanjing), [[Shenyang|Fengtian (Shenyang)]] and [[Datong]], and was a major railway hub in North China.

{{multiple image
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 | footer = Left: Qianmen (Zhengyangmen) railway station in the 1900s. Right: The old railway station is now the China Railway Museum.
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| image2 = BEIJING RAILWAY MUSEUM THE FORMER BEIJING RAILWAY STATION BEIJING CHINA OCT 2012 (8807483302).jpg
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}}

==Republic of China==
{{See also|History of the Republic of China}}

The Qing dynasty was overthrown in the [[Xinhai Revolution]] of 1911 but the capital of the newly founded [[Republic of China (1912-1949)|Republic of China]] remained in Beijing as former Qing general [[Yuan Shikai]] [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)#Northern transition#End of provisional government|took control of the new government]] from revolutionaries in the south. Yuan and successors from his [[Beiyang Army]] ruled the Republic from Beijing until 1928 when [[Kuomintang|Chinese Nationalists]] [[Chinese reunification (1928)|reunified the country]] through the [[Northern Expedition]] and moved the capital to Nanjing. Beijing was renamed Beiping. In 1937, [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident|a clash between Chinese and Japanese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge]] outside Beiping triggered the outbreak of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. Japanese occupiers created a [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1937–1940)|collaborationist government in northern China]] and reverted the city's name to Beijing to serve as capital for the puppet regime. After Japan's surrender in 1945, the city returned to Chinese rule and was again renamed Beiping. During the subsequent [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]] between the Chinese Nationalists and Communists, the city was peacefully transferred to Communist control in 1949 and renamed Beijing to become the capital of the People's Republic of China.

===Xinhai Revolution===
{{multiple image
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| image1 = PuYi 1909.jpg
| width1 = 190
| caption1 = [[Regent]] [[Zaifeng, Prince Chun|Prince Chun]] (seated) asked Yuan Shikai to quell the [[Wuchang Uprising]] in October 1911, but agreed to end the Qing dynasty in February 1912 to secure the safety of the royal family. His son, [[Puyi]] (standing) was the [[Puyi|Last Emperor]].
| image2 = YuanShika Colour.jpg
| width2 = 130
| caption2 =Yuan Shikai seized control of the [[Xinhai Revolution]] by extracting the abdication of the imperial court and the provisional presidency of the Republic.
| image3 = Sun Yat-sen 2.jpg
| width3 = 110
| caption3 = Sun Yat-sen founded the new Republic but agreed to give the provisional presidency to Yuan Shikai. Sun then formed the [[Chinese Nationalist Party]] in Beijing, which won the [[1912 Republic of China National Assembly elections|first national elections in 1913.]]
}}
{{See also|Xinhai Revolution}}
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Yuan Shikai sworn in as Provisional President - 10 March 1912.jpg
 | width1 = 250
 | caption1 = [[Yuan Shikai]] was inaugurated as the provisional president of the newly established [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] in Beijing on March 10, 1912. He maneuvered to keep the capital of the new republic in Beijing where his [[Beiyang Army]] held sway.
 | image2 = Bundesarchiv Bild 137-009052, Peking - Sowjet. Botschafter Karachan fährt zur Audienz.jpg
 | width2 = 250
 | caption2 = Yuan based his office and residence in the [[Zhongnanhai Compound]] next to the [[Forbidden City]]. The New China Gate was built as the southern entrance to Zhongnanhai during Yuan's reign. Above: honor guard accompanying a foreign delegation in 1924.
}}
When the [[Wuchang Uprising]] erupted in October 1911, the Qing court summoned Yuan Shikai and his powerful [[Beiyang Army]] to suppress the insurrection. As he [[battle of Yangxia|fought revolutionaries]] in the south, Yuan also negotiated with them. On January 1, 1912, Dr. [[Sun Yat-sen]], who returned from exile, founded the Republic of China in Nanjing and was elected [[President of the Republic of China|provisional president]]. The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)|new government]] was not recognized by any foreign powers, and Sun agreed to cede leadership to Yuan Shikai in exchange for the latter's assistance in ending the Qing dynasty. On February 12, Yuan compelled the Qing court, under the [[regent|regency]] of [[Zaifeng, Prince Chun|Prince Chun]], to abdicate. [[Empress Dowager Longyu]] signed the abdication agreement on behalf of the five-year-old Last Emperor, [[Puyi]]. The following day Sun resigned from the provisional presidency and recommended Yuan for the position. Under the terms of the imperial abdication, the Puyi would retain his dignitary title and staff and receive an annual stipend of 4 million Mexican silver dollars from the Republic. He was permitted to continue to reside in the Forbidden City for a time but was required to eventually move to the Summer Palace. His tomb and rituals were to be maintained at the expense of the Republic. The abdication ended the Qing dynasty and averted further bloodshed in the revolution.

As a condition for ceding leadership to Yuan, Sun insisted that the provisional government remain in Nanjing. On February 14, the Provisional Senate initially voted 20–5 in favor of making Beijing the capital over Nanjing, with two votes going for Wuhan and one for Tianjin.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.1">(Chinese) [http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189.htm 胡绳武 "民国元年定都之争" ''民国档案'' p.1] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606083901/http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189.htm |date=2012-06-06 }} 2010-12-08</ref> The Senate majority wanted to secure the peace agreement by taking power in Beijing.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.1"/> [[Zhang Jian (politician)|Zhang Jian]] and others reasoned that having the capital in Beijing would check against Manchu restoration and [[Outer Mongolia (1911–1919)|Mongol secession]]. But Sun and [[Huang Xing]] argued in favor of Nanjing to balance against Yuan's power base in the north.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.1"/> [[Li Yuanhong]] presented Wuhan as a compromise.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_2.htm 胡绳武 "民国元年定都之" ''民国档案'' p. 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915032733/http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_2.htm |date=2012-09-15 }} 2010-12-08</ref> The next day, the Provisional Senate voted again, this time, 19–6 in favor of Nanjing with two votes for Wuhan.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.1"/> Sun sent a delegation led by [[Cai Yuanpei]] and [[Wang Jingwei]] to persuade Yuan to move to Nanjing.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.3">(Chinese) [http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_3.htm 胡绳武 "民国元年定都之争" ''民国档案'' p. 3] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915032749/http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_3.htm |date=2012-09-15 }} 2010-12-08</ref> Yuan welcomed the delegation and agreed to accompany the delegates back to the south.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.4">(Chinese) [http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_4.htm 胡绳武 "民国元年定都之争" ''民国档案'' p. 4] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915032803/http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_4.htm |date=2012-09-15 }} 2010-12-08</ref> Then on the evening of February 29, [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1912)#Northern transition#Dong'anmen Gate incident|riots and fires]] broke out in all over the city.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.4"/> They were allegedly started by disobedient troops of [[Cao Kun]], a loyal officer of Yuan.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.4"/> Disorder among military ranks spread to Tongzhou, Tianjin and Baoding.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.4"/> These events gave Yuan the pretext to stay in the north to guard against unrest. On March 10, Yuan was inaugurated in Beijing as the provisional president of the Republic of China.<ref name="Xinhai.org p.2">(Chinese) [http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_3.htm 胡绳武 "民国元年定都之争" ''民国档案'' p. 2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915032749/http://www.xinhai.org/yanjiu/191101189_3.htm |date=2012-09-15 }} 2010-12-08</ref> Yuan based the executive office and residence in [[Zhongnanhai]], next to the Forbidden City. On April 5, the Provisional Senate in Nanjing voted to make Beijing the capital of the Republic and convened in Beijing at the end of the month.
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1 = ROC's house of representatives.JPG
 | width1 = 225
 | caption1 = The Xinhua News Agency Auditorium on [[Tong Linge|Tong Lin'ge]] Road in Xicheng District, was the [[National Assembly of the Republic of China|National Assembly]] Building during the early Republic. The first elected National Assembly convened here in April 1913.
 | image2 = ReaperturaDelParlamentoChino19160801.jpg
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 | alt2=
 | caption2 = The first elected National Assembly was dissolved by Yuan Shikai in 1914, reconvened by [[Duan Qirui]] in 1916, dissolved by [[Zhang Xun (Qing loyalist)|Zhang Xun]] during the [[Manchu Restoration|imperial restoration in 1917]], and reconvened again in 1922. (Pictured here on August 1, 1916)
}}
In August, Sun Yat-sen traveled to Beijing where he was welcomed by Yuan Shikai and a crowd of thousands.<ref>[[#Strand 2002|Strand 2002]]: 58-59</ref> At the [[Huguang Guild Hall]], the [[Revolutionary Alliance|Revolutionary Alliance (''Tongmenghui'')]] led by Sun, Huang Xing and [[Song Jiaoren]] joined several smaller parties to form the [[Kuomintang]].<ref>[[#Strand 2002|Strand 2002]]: 58</ref> The [[1912 Republic of China National Assembly elections|first national assembly elections were held from December 1912 to January 1913]]. Adult males over the age of 21 who were educated or owned property and paid taxes and who could prove two-year residency in a particular county could vote.<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 222-223</ref> An estimated 4–6% of China's population were registered for the election.<ref name="CHC222">[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 222</ref> The Nationalist Party won a majority in both houses of the National Assembly, which convened in Beijing in April 1913.<ref name="CHC222"/>

As the assembly set out to ratify the constitution, Yuan resisted efforts to share power. Without the assembly's knowledge, he arranged for the large and expensive Reorganization Loan from a consortium of foreign lenders to fund his military. The loan, signed into effect at the HSBC Bank in the Legation Quarter, effectively surrendered the government's collection of salt tax revenues to foreign control.<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 207, 211, 246</ref> Yuan's agents assassinated Nationalist leader Song Jiaoren in Shanghai.<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 224</ref> In response, Sun Yat-sen launched a [[Second Chinese Revolution#Second Revolution|Second Revolution]] in July 1913, which failed and forced him into exile. Yuan then forced the National Assembly to elect him as the president and expel Nationalist members. In early 1914, he dissolved the National Assembly and abolished the provisional constitution in May.<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 242</ref> On December 23, 1915, Yuan declared himself emperor, and his regime, the [[Empire of China (1915–1916)]]. This declaration provoked the [[National Protection War]] as provinces in the south rebelled. Yuan was forced to step down from emperor to president in March 1916. He died in Beijing in June 1916, leaving military men from the Beiyang Army vying for control of the government. Over the next 12 years, the Beiyang Government in Beijing had no fewer than [[List of Presidents of the Republic of China|eight presidents]], five parliaments, [[List of premiers of the Republic of China|24 cabinets]], at least four constitutions and one brief [[Manchu Restoration|restoration of the Manchu Monarchy]].<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 307-308</ref>

Unlike prior dynastic changes, the end of Qing rule in Beijing did not cause a substantial decline in the city's population, which was 785,442 in 1910, 670,000 in 1913 and 811,566 in 1917.{{sfn|Han|1996|pp=137, 212}} The population of the surrounding region grew from 1.7 to 2.9 million over the same period.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}} In 1917, Beijing was the fourth largest city in China after Guangzhou, Shanghai and [[Hankou]], and the seventh largest capital city in the world.<ref>[[#Gamble & Burgess 1921|Gamble & Burgess 1921]]: [https://books.google.com/books?id=mTx_wlVaankC&q=hankow&pg=PR7 94]</ref>

===World War I and the May 4th Movement===
[[File:TropasRepublicanasCiudadProhibida19170712--fightforrepublic00putn.jpeg|right|220px|thumb|Republican troops fighting to retake the Forbidden City on July 12, 1917, during the short-lived [[Manchu Restoration]].]]
{{See also|May 4th Movement}}
After Yuan's death, Li Yuanhong became president and [[Duan Qirui]], the prime minister, and the National Assembly was reconvened. The government soon faced a crisis over whether to enter [[World War I]] on the side of the [[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]] or remain neutral. Li dismissed Duan, who favored entry into the war, and invited warlord [[Zhang Xun (Qing loyalist)|Zhang Xun]] to the capital to mediate. Zhang and his [[Queue (hairstyle)|pigtailed]] loyalist army marched into Beijing, dissolved the National Assembly and [[Manchu Restoration|restored Puyi as Qing emperor on July 1]].<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 309</ref> Li fled to the Japanese Embassy in the Legation. The imperial restoration lasted just 12 days as Duan Qirui's army reclaimed the capital, and sent Zhang seeking refuge in the Dutch Embassy. Under Duan's command, China declared war on the [[Central Powers]] and sent 140,000 [[Chinese Labour Corps|Chinese laborers]] to work on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. With [[Nishihara Loans|financial backing from Japan]], Duan then engineered the [[1918 Republic of China National Assembly elections|election of a new parliament in 1918]] that was stacked his supporters from the [[Anhui clique]]. The so-called Anfu Parliament was named after Anfu Hutong, near Zhongnanhai where Duan's Anhui-based supporters congregated.

In the spring of 1919, the Republic of China, as a victor nation sent a delegation to the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] seeking the return of [[Kiautschou Bay concession|German concession]] in [[Shandong Province]] to China. Instead, the [[Treaty of Versailles]] gave those possessions to Japan. News of the treaty sparked outrage in the Chinese capital. On May 4, 3,000 students from 13 universities in Beijing gathered in [[Tiananmen Square]] to protest the betrayal of China by the other Western powers and the corruption of the Anfu government by Japanese financial support. They marched toward the foreign legation but were blocked and proceeded to the home of deputy foreign minister [[Cao Rulin]], who had attended the Peace Conference and was known to be friendly to Japanese interests. They razed Cao's residence and beat up Zhang Zongxiang, another pro-Japanese diplomat. The police arrested 32 students, which provoked further protests and arrests. Within weeks, the movement had spread to 200 cities and towns in 22 provinces. Workers in Shanghai struck and merchants closed shops in support of the protests. By late June, the government pledged not to sign the treaty, removed Cao and Zhang from office and released students from jail.
{{multiple image
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 | header = [[May Fourth Movement]], 1919
 | footer = Middle: [[Peking University]] (shown here the "Red Building" on what is now May 4th Boulevard), played a prominent role in the Movement. Left: Students arrested in the demonstrations returned triumphantly to campus on May 7th after their release. Right: the Movement began a tradition of popular student protest in Beijing as students marched again in Tiananmen Square in November 1919 to protest Japanese imperialism.
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The [[May Fourth Movement]] began a tradition of student activism in Beijing and had a profound political and cultural impact on modern China. Leading intellectuals including [[Cai Yuanpei]] and [[Hu Shih]] at [[Peking University]], encouraged [[New Culture Movement|the development of new culture]] to replace the traditional order. The movement also heightened the appeal of [[Marxism-Leninism]] as [[Chen Duxiu]] and [[Li Dazhao]], prominent May 4 figures, became early leaders of the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. Among the many youth who flocked to the Chinese capital during this period was a student from Hunan named [[Mao Zedong]] who worked as a library assistant under Li Dazhao at Peking University. Mao left the city for Shanghai in 1920 where he helped found the [[Chinese Communist Party]] in 1921. He did not return to Beijing until almost 30 years later.

===Beiyang regime===
{{See also|Beiyang government|Warlord Era}}
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 | caption1 = Students demonstrated in Tiananmen Square on March 18, 1926, against the special privileges of foreign powers in China.
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 | caption2 = After the students marched to Duan Qirui's presidential office on the Iron Lion Hutong, now [[Zhang Zizhong]] Road, they were confronted by soldiers and bloodshed ensued.
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In the 1920s, military strongmen of the Beiyang Army split into cliques and vied for control of the Republican government and its capital. In July 1920, Duan's government, weakened by the May 4 Protests, was driven out of Beijing by [[Wu Peifu]] and [[Cao Kun]] of the [[Zhili clique]] in the [[Zhili–Anhui War]]. Two years later, the Zhili Clique fought off a challenge by [[Zhang Zuolin]] and his Manchuria-based [[Fengtian clique]] in the [[First Zhili–Fengtian War]]. When the two sides squared off again in [[Second Zhili–Fengtian War]] in 1924, one of Wu's officers [[Feng Yuxiang]] launched the [[1924 Beijing Coup|Beijing Coup]]. On October 23, 1924, Feng seized the capital, imprisoned President Cao Kun, restored Duan Qirui as the head of state and invited [[Sun Yat-sen]] to Beijing for peace talks. At that time, Sun was building a Nationalist regime in Guangzhou with the assistance of the Soviet [[Comintern]] and support of the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. Sun was stricken with cancer when he arrived in Beijing in early 1925 for one last effort to heal the north–south divide. He was welcomed by hundreds of civic organizations and called on Duan to include broad segments of civil society in reconstructing a united government. He died in Beijing on March 12, 1925, and was entombed at the [[Temple of Azure Clouds]].

Zhang Zuolin and Wu Peifu joined forces against Feng Yuxiang, who relied on support from the Soviet Union. Feng took a generally accommodating stance toward the Nationalist and Communist parties which were active in spreading influence in the city. During this period, Beijing was a hotbed of student activism. In the [[May 30th Movement]] of 1925, 12,000 students from 90 schools marched through [[Wangfujing]] to Tiananmen in support of protesters in Shanghai.<ref name="Strand 182">[[#Strand 1993|Strand 1993]]: 182</ref> With the opening of private colleges such as [[Yenching University]] in 1919 and the [[Fu Jen Catholic University|Catholic University of Peking]] in 1925, the student population in Beijing grew substantially in the early 1920s.<ref name="Strand 182"/> Middle school students also joined the protests.<ref name="Strand 182"/> In October, students protested against imperialism during an international conference on customs and tariffs held in the city.<ref name="Strand 192">[[#Strand 1993|Strand 1993]]: 192</ref> In November, Li Dazhao organized the "Capital Revolution" a protest by students and workers demanding Duan's resignation. The protest was more violent, burning down a major newspaper office, but was disbanded.<ref>Zheng Yuan, "The Capital Revolution: a Case Study of Chinese Student Movements in the 1920s." ''Journal of Asian History'' 2004 38(1): 1-26. {{ISSN|0021-910X}}</ref>

Though the Nationalists, under Sun's leadership, had allied with the Communists in the struggle against warlords, this alliance was not without tension. In November 1925, a group of right-wing Nationalist leaders met in the [[Western Hills]] and called for the expulsion of Communists from the Nationalist Party and severance of ties with the Comintern including advisor [[Mikhail Borodin]].<ref name="Strand 192"/><ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 558</ref> This manifesto was denounced by the Nationalists' party center in Guangzhou led by [[Chiang Kai-shek]], Wang Jingwei, and [[Hu Hanmin]], and members of the so-called "Western Hills Group" were either expelled or left out of the party leadership.<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 558-559</ref> They moved to Shanghai and regained power during the [[Shanghai massacre|rupture between the Nationalists and Communists in April 1927]].
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = NRA Generals Northern Expedition.jpg
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 | caption1 = Shortly after taking Beijing during the [[Northern Expedition]], [[Chinese Nationalist Party|Nationalist Party]] leaders led by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] gathered at the [[Temple of Azure Clouds]] on July 6, 1928, to pay homage to [[Sun Yat-sen]]. Sun's tomb and the seat of national government were both moved to [[Nanjing]]. Beijing was renamed Beiping. Front row from left: [[Bai Chongxi]], Ma Sida, [[Ma Fuxiang]], [[Yan Xishan]], Wu Zhihui, Chiang, Chen Diaoyuan, Zhang Zuobao, and He Chengjun.
| image2 = Beijing Peace Safeguarding Arch 2005-11-27.jpg
 | width2 = 206
 | caption2 = The [[Beijing Shejitan|Imperial Altar of Earth and Harvest]] located inside the Forbidden City between Tiananmen and Zhongnanhai became a city park in 1914. In 1928, the park was renamed "Zhongshan Park" in honor of Sun, whose statue is visible in the background. (One of his alternative appellations is Sun Zhongshan).
}}
On March 17, 1926, Feng Yuxiang's ''[[Guominjun]]'' troops at [[Dagu Fort]] near Tianjin exchanged fire with Japanese warships carrying Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian troops. Japan accused the Chinese government of violating the [[Boxer Protocol]] and, with the other seven Boxer Powers, issued an ultimatum demanding the removal of all defenses between Beijing and the sea as set forth under the Protocols. The ultimatum provoked student protests in Beijing that were jointly organized by the left-wing Nationalists and Communists. Two thousand students marched on Duan Qirui's executive office and called for the abrogation of the [[unequal treaties]].<ref name="CHC570"/> Police opened fire and killed over 50 and wounded 200 in what became known as the [[March 18 Massacre]].<ref>[[#Strand 1993|Strand 1993]]: 193-194</ref> The government issued warrants for the arrest of Nationalists and Communists including Li Dazhao, who fled to the Soviet Embassy in the Legation quarters.<ref name="CHC570">[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 570</ref> Within weeks, Feng Yuxiang was defeated by Zhang Zuolin and Duan's government fell. After Zhang took power on May 1, 1926, both the Nationalists and Communists were driven underground.<ref>[[#Strand 1993|Strand 1993]]: 223-224</ref> A year later, Zhang Zuolin raided the Soviet Embassy in the Legation and seized Li Dazhao. Li and 19 others Communist and Nationalist activists were executed in Beijing on April 25, 1927.

Zhang Zuolin controlled the Beiyang Government until June 1928 when the Nationalists on the [[Northern Expedition]] led by Chiang Kai-shek and allies [[Yan Xishan]] and Feng Yuxiang jointly advanced on Beijing. Zhang left the city for Manchuria and [[Huanggutun incident|was assassinated en route]] by the [[Japanese Kwantung Army]]. Beijing was [[Chinese reunification (1928)|handed over peacefully]] to the victorious Nationalists<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 712</ref> who moved the capital and [[Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum|Sun Yat-sen's tomb]] to Nanjing. For the first time since 1421, Beijing was renamed '''Beiping''' 北平 ([[Wade–Giles]]: '''Peip'ing'''),<ref>[[#MacKerras|MacKerras 1991]]: 8</ref> or "Northern Peace".<ref name="columbia encyclopedia">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Beijing|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Beijing.html|encyclopedia=[[The Columbia Encyclopedia]]|edition=6th|year=2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080714013315/http://www.bartleby.com/65/be/Beijing.html|archive-date=2008-07-14}}</ref> Following the Northern Expedition, Beijing was under the ''de facto'' control of [[Shanxi]] warlord Yan Xishan who had allied himself with Nationalists.{{sfnp|Wilbur|1983|p=193}} On 2 March 1929, the city was the place of a [[Beijing Revolt|violent mutiny]] of soldiers who formerly belonged to the army of warlord [[Zhang Zongchang]], a subordinate of Zhang Zuolin. Though the mutineers managed to seize the [[Yonghe Temple]] and spread terror in Beijing, their revolt was quickly suppressed.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Reuters]] |date=4 March 1929 |title=Peking Revolt. Regiment of Troops Mutiny |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb19290304-1.2.61 |work=The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser |access-date=26 October 2018 }}</ref> The city was made the provincial capital of [[Hebei Province]], but lost that status to Tianjin in 1930. During the [[Central Plains War]] in 1930, Yan Xishan briefly tried to establish a rival national government in Beijing but lost the city to [[Zhang Xueliang]], the son of Zhang Zuolin who was allied with Chiang Kai-shek.<ref name="Dong 124"/>

{{multiple image
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 | width3 = 230
 | caption3 = Street scene after the introduction of [[Beijing Tram and Trolleybus|street trams]] in 1921. [[Rickshaws]] were also common.
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 | width2 = 230
 | caption2 = [[Dongsi Subdistrict, Beijing|Dongsi Subdistrict]], or the Eastern Quadrangle, is named after the four [[paifang|sign gates]] that marked the intersection, which were torn down in 1958. (Pictured in 1920)
}}

===City planning in the 1920s===
During the Beiyang period, Beijing transitioned from an imperial capital into a modern city. The city's population grew from 725,235 in 1912 to 863,209 in 1921.<ref>[[#Cambridge History Vol 12 Part 1|Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1]]: 715</ref> The municipal government reconfigured city walls and gates, paved and widened streets, installed [[Beijing Tram and Trolleybus|tram service]] and introduced urban planning and zoning rules. The authorities also built modern water utilities, improved urban sanitation, educated the public about the proper handling of food and waste and monitored outbreaks of infectious diseases. With these public health measures, infant mortality and life expectancy of the general population improved.<ref>Cameron Campbell, "Public Health Efforts in China Before 1949 and Their Effects on Mortality: the Case of Beijing." ''Social Science History'' 1997 21(2): 179-218. {{ISSN|0145-5532}} Fulltext: [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1171273 in Jstor]</ref>

Urban development also reflected changes in political attitudes as the republican form of government prevailed over the monarchy and attempts to reintroduce imperial rule.<ref>Mingzheng Shi, "Rebuilding the Chinese Capital: Beijing in the Early Twentieth Century." ''Urban History'' 1998 25(1): 60-81. {{ISSN|0963-9268}}</ref> One example of the newfound emphasis on civic rights over imperial tradition was the development of city parks in Beijing. The idea of the public park as a place where common people could relax in a pastoral setting came to China from the West via Japan. Public parks in Beijing were almost all converted from imperial gardens and temples, which had previously been off-limits to most commoners. The Beijing municipal government, local gentry and merchants all promoted the development of public parks to provide wholesome entertainment and reduce alcoholism, gambling, and prostitution. After the Beijing Coup of 1924, Feng Yuxiang evicted Puyi from the [[Forbidden City]], which was opened to the public as the [[Palace Museum]]. Parks also provided places for commercial activities and the open exchange of political and social ideas for the middle and upper classes.<ref>Mingzheng Shi, "From Imperial Gardens to Public Parks: the Transformation of Urban Space in Early Twentieth-century Beijing." ''Modern China'' 1998 24(3): 219-254. {{ISSN|0097-7004}} Fulltext: [https://www.jstor.org/stable/189404 JSTOR]</ref>

The demotion of Beijing from national capital to a mere provincial city greatly constrained urban planners' initiatives to modernize the city. Along with political stature, Beiping also lost government revenue, jobs and jurisdiction. In 1921, large banks headquartered in Beijing accounted for 51.9% of bank capital held by the 23 most important banks in China.<ref name="Sheehan_4.2">[[#Sheehan|Sheehan 2002]]: 55 Table 4.2</ref> That proportion fell to just 2.8% in 1928 and 0% in 1935, as wealth followed political power out of the city.<ref name="Sheehan_4.2"/> The city's jurisdiction also shrank as surrounding counties were redrawn into Hebei. For the first time since the Ming dynasty, city no longer had control over agricultural regions and watershed.<ref>[[#Dong 2002|Dong 2002]]: 123</ref> Even the power plant for the city's [[Beijing Tram and Trolleybus|trolley system]] in [[Tongzhou District, Beijing|Tong County]] fell outside the city's jurisdiction.<ref name="Dong 124">[[#Dong 2002|Dong 2002]]: 124</ref> Appeals to Nanjing for the recovery of towns like [[Wanping Fortress|Wanping]] and [[Daxing District|Daxing]] were denied.<ref>[[#Dong 2002|Dong 2002]]: 125</ref> The city, anchored by its historical relics and universities, remained a center for tourism and higher education and became known as "China's Boston."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100826102229/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,848985,00.html "Foreign News: On to Chicago" ''Time''] June 13, 1938</ref> In 1935, the city's population stood at 1.11 million, with another 3.485 million in the surrounding region.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}

===Second Sino-Japanese War===
[[File:Beijing-1935.jpg|thumb|right|Students marched through Beiping on [[December 9th Movement|December 9, 1935]] calling on the Nationalist Chinese government to resist Japanese expansion into northern China.]]
{{Main|Marco Polo Bridge Incident|Battle of Beiping–Tianjin}}
After Japan seized Manchuria through the [[Mukden Incident]] in 1931, Beiping was threatened by steady [[North China Buffer State Strategy|Japanese encroachment into northern China]]. The [[Tanggu Truce]] of 1933 gave control of the Great Wall to the Japanese and imposed a 100-km demilitarized zone south of the wall. This deprived Beiping of its northern defenses. The secret [[He-Umezu Agreement]] of May 1935 required the Chinese government to remove [[National Revolutionary Army|Central Army]] units from Hebei Province and suppress anti-Japanese activities by the Chinese public.<ref>[[#Dryburgh|Dryburgh 2000]]: 149</ref> The [[Chin-Doihara Agreement|Qin-Doihara Agreement]] of June 1935 compelled the Nationalist 29th Army, a former unit of [[Feng Yuxiang]]'s ''[[Guominjun]]'' that fought the Japanese [[Defense of the Great Wall|in defense of the Great Wall]], to evacuate from [[Chahar Province]]. This army was relocated and confined to an area south of the Beiping near Nanyuan.<ref>[[#Dryburgh|Dryburgh 2000]]: 44</ref> In November 1935, the Japanese created a puppet regime based in [[Tongzhou District, Beijing|Tongzhou]] called the [[East Hebei Autonomous Council]], which declared its independence from the Republic of China and controlled 22 counties east of Beiping, including Tongzhou and Pinggu in modern-day Beijing Municipality.

In response to the growing threat, the [[Palace Museum]]'s art collection was removed to Nanjing in 1934 and air defense shelters were built in Zhongnanhai.<ref>[[#Dong 2002|Dong 2002]]: 122, 124</ref> The influx of refugees from Manchuria and presence of university campuses made Beiping a hotbed for anti-Japanese sentiment. On December 9, 1935, the university students in Beiping launched the [[December 9th Movement]] to protest the creation [[Hebei–Chahar Political Council]], a semi-autonomous authority to administer the remainder of Hebei and Chahar not yet under direct Japanese control.

{{multiple image
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| caption1 = ''Above'': Chinese soldiers defending the [[Marco Polo Bridge]] in July 1937. ''Right'': Japanese magazine cover showing the Japanese military marching through the gate at [[Chaoyangmen]] on August 8, after the capture of Beiping. (''Asahigraph'', September 1, 1937, ed.)
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On July 7, 1937, the 29th Army and the [[Japanese China Garrison Army|Japanese army in China]] exchanged fire at the [[Marco Polo Bridge]] near the [[Wanping Fortress]] southwest of the city. The [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident]] triggered the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], World War II as it is known in China. After [[Guanganmen Incident|continued clashes]] and failed cease-fire talks, Japanese reinforcements with air support launched a full-scale [[Battle of Beiping–Tianjin|offensive against Beiping and Tianjin]] in late July. In fighting south of the city, deputy commander of the 29th Army [[Tong Linge|Tong Lin'ge]] and division commander [[Zhao Dengyu]] were both killed in action. They along with [[Zhang Zizhong]], another 29th Army commander who died later in the war, are the only three modern personages after whom city streets are named in Beijing.<ref group=Note name=CityStreets/> In [[Tongzhou District, Beijing|Tongzhou]], the [[East Hebei Army|collaborationist militia of the East Hebei Council]] refused to join the Japanese in attacking the 29th Army and [[Tongzhou mutiny|mutinied]], but Chinese forces had retreated to the south.<ref name="columbia encyclopedia"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Incident on July 7, 1937|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/27/content_3141055.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050703005638/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-06/27/content_3141055.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2005|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=2005-06-27|access-date=2008-06-20}}</ref> The city itself was spared of urban fighting and destruction that many other Chinese cities suffered in the war.

The Japanese created another puppet regime, the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1937–1940)|Provisional Government of the Republic of China]], to manage occupied territories in northern China and designated Beiping, renamed Beijing, as its capital.<ref name="Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 166">[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 166</ref> This government later merged with [[Wang Jingwei]]'s [[Reorganized National Government of China]], a collaborationist government based in Nanjing, though effective control remained with the Japanese military.<ref name="Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 166"/>

During the war, Peking and Tsinghua Universities relocated to unoccupied areas and formed the [[National Southwestern Associated University]]. Furen University was protected by the Holy See's neutrality with the Axis Powers. After the outbreak of the [[Pacific War]] with the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941, the Japanese shut down Yenching University and imprisoned its American staff. Some were rescued by Communist partisans that waged guerrilla warfare in rural outlying areas. The village of Jiaozhuanghu in [[Shunyi District]] still has a labyrinth of tunnels with underground command posts, meeting rooms, and camouflaged entrances from the war.<ref>[http://www.oldbeijing.net/Article/Class1/Class22/9606.html "Memorial Museum of Tunnel Warfare Sites at Jiaozhuanghu Village" ''OldBeijing.net''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719141819/http://oldbeijing.net/Article/Class1/Class22/9606.html |date=2011-07-19 }} Last Retrieved Aug. 23, 2011</ref>

In 1938, the Japanese military secretly created North China Unit 1855, a [[biological warfare]] unit based in Beijing, which operated laboratories next to the Temple of Heaven, Beihai and in the Union Hospital.{{sfn|Xie|2001|p=307}} Like [[Unit 731]], its more notorious counterpart, Unit 1855 devised virulent strains of bacteria and conducted lethal [[Human subject research|experiments]] on [[prisoners of war]].{{sfn|Xie|2001|p=321}} Strains of infectious diseases developed by Unit 1855 were used about 70 times during the war, killing over 100,000 civilians in northern China.{{sfn|Xie|2001|pp=322-25}} In 1943, a strain of [[cholera]] released by the unit in southern Beijing to test its virulence killed 1,872 residents.{{sfn|Xie|2001|p=325}} Biological warfare was banned by the [[Geneva Protocol|Geneva Protocol of 1925]].{{sfn|Xie|2001|p=306}} On August 15, 1945, immediately following the Japanese Emperor's [[Gyokuon-hōsō|announcement of surrender]], Unit 1855 began removing or destroying evidence of its existence and departed the city ten days later leaving few traces of its activities.{{sfn|Xie|2001|pp=327-29}} The unit evaded the [[Japanese war crimes|Japanese war crimes tribunals]] and remained largely unknown until later research by historians.{{sfn|Xie|2001|pp=305-06}}

On October 10, 1945, Japanese occupation of Beiping ended with surrender to Chinese Nationalist forces at a ceremony in the Forbidden City.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.oldbeijing.net/Article/Class1/Class22/9606.html "北平日本投降仪式亲历"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719141819/http://oldbeijing.net/Article/Class1/Class22/9606.html |date=2011-07-19 }} Last Retrieved 2011-08-21</ref> With the end of World War II, the city reverted to Chinese Nationalist control and was renamed back to Beiping.

===Chinese Civil War===
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|footer = '''Left''':The Executive Headquarters of U.S. General [[George C. Marshall]]'s [[Marshall Mission|Mission to China (1945–1947)]] near the [[Peking Union Medical College]] in Beiping with a "Committee of Three" to mediate disputes between the Chinese Nationalists and Communists. The mission brokered a truce in 1946 and but failed to create a coalition government and prevent the outbreak of [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]]. '''Right''': A large portrait of [[Chiang Kai-shek]] was displayed above [[Tiananmen Gate]] during the Civil War.
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|footer = '''Left''': After Nationalist Commander [[Fu Zuoyi]] agreed to hand over Beiping without a fight, the [[People's Liberation Army]] entered the city on February 3, 1949. Pictured is the military procession toward [[Qianmen]]. '''Right''': The portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Gate on Feb. 12, 1949.}}

The Nationalists and [[Chinese Communist Party|Chinese Communists]] were allies during the Sino-Japanese War, but their domestic rivalry resumed after the defeat of Japan. To prevent the resumption of [[Chinese civil war|civil war]], the U.S. government sent [[George C. Marshall]] to China to mediate.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Fairbank|first1= John K|author-link1= John King Fairbank|last2= Goldman|first2= Merle|title= China: A New History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBDC2cqb6I0C&q=george+marshall+negotiations+in+peking&pg=PA330|access-date= August 22, 2011|year= 2006|publisher= Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-01828-1|page=133}}</ref> The [[Marshall Mission]] was headquartered in Beiping where a truce was brokered on January 10, 1946, and a three-person committee, consisting of a Nationalist, a Communist and an American representative, was created to investigate breaches in the ceasefire in North China and Manchuria.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Caughey|first1= John Hart|last2= Jeans|first2= Roger B|title= The Marshall Mission to China, 1945–1947: The Letters and Diary of Colonel John Hart Caughey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y9StKuHht_4C&q=%22committee+of+three%22&pg=PT344|access-date= August 22, 2011|year= 2011|publisher= Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-1294-7}}</ref> The truce began to unravel in June 1946 and the Marshall Mission ultimately failed to create a coalition government. The [[Shen Chong case|rape of Peking University student Shen Chong]] by two U.S. Marines in Dongdan on Christmas Eve 1946 sparked student demonstrations against the U.S. military presence in China. After Marshall's departure in February 1947, full-scale civil war erupted.

Beiping was the headquarters of the Nationalists' North China military operations led by [[Fu Zuoyi]] who commanded 550,000 troops. The city in 1948 had 1.5 million residents and another 4.1 million in the surrounding region.{{sfn|Han|1996|p=137}}<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus/> Among them were over 20,000 student airlifted out of Manchuria by Nationalist authorities to relieve pressure on food supplies in besieged cities and to prevent the youth from joining the Communist movement.{{sfn|Pepper|1999|p=174}} Once in Beiping, the student refugees were given meager food rations but no means of reconstituting their schools.{{sfn|Pepper|1999|p=174}} Once their rations ran out, the students marched on the city government in protest but were fired upon by the Nationalists' Youth Army, which killed at least nine and wounded 48.{{sfn|Pepper|1999|pp=174-75}} The July 5th Massacre was widely condemned across the country.{{sfn|Pepper|1999|p=175}} Then vice-president [[Li Zongren]] and Fu Zuoyi met with students and promising to hold the culprits accountable. Chiang Kai-shek agreed to pull the Youth Army out of Beiping, but over 250 student organizers were arrested in August.

On November 29, 1948, the Chinese Communists' [[People's Liberation Army|People's Liberation Army (PLA)]], fresh off a [[Liaoshen Campaign|decisive victory in Manchuria]], launched the [[Pingjin Campaign]]. They captured [[Zhangjiakou]] to the northwest on December 24 and Tianjin to the southeast on January 15, 1949. With the defeat of the Nationalists in the [[Huaihai Campaign]] further south, Fu Zuoyi and over 200,000 Nationalist defenders were surrounded in Beiping. After weeks of intensive negotiations, Fu agreed on January 22, 1949, to pull his troops out of the city for "reorganization by the PLA." His defection spared the city, its residents and its historical architecture from imminent destruction. On February 3, the PLA marched into Beiping.

In the spring of 1949, Nationalist leader [[Li Zongren]] attempted a last-ditch effort to secure a truce. Peace talks were held at the Six Nations Hotel in Beiping from April 1–12, but the Communists could not be persuaded to halt their advance at the [[Yangtze River]] and concede southern China to the Nationalists.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.oldbeijing.net/Article/Class1/Class67/15566.html Wang Mingzhen, "1949年国共和平谈判会场六国饭店轶闻"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719145721/http://oldbeijing.net/Article/Class1/Class67/15566.html |date=2011-07-19 }} Last Accessed August 22, 2011</ref> On April 23, the PLA resumed the offensive across the Yangtze and captured the Nanjing on the following day.

As the PLA continued to gain control over the rest of the country, Communist leaders, [[Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang|friendly Nationalists]] and [[List of political parties in the People's Republic of China|third party supporters]] convened the [[Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference]] at Zhongnanhai in Beiping on September 21. In preparation for establishment of a [[Government of China|new regime]], they agreed to a new name, [[Flag of the People's Republic of China|flag]], [[National Emblem of the People's Republic of China|emblem]], [[March of the Volunteers|anthem]] and [[Historical capitals of China|capital]] for the nation.

==People's Republic of China==
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|footer = '''Left:'''From atop [[Tiananmen Gate]], [[Mao Zedong]], proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, and Beijing again became the capital of China. '''Right:''' Beijing middle school students attended the ceremony in [[Tiananmen Square]].
}}
{{See also|Politics of Beijing|History of the People's Republic of China}}
On October 1, 1949, [[Mao Zedong]] stood atop the rostrum of [[Tiananmen]] Gate, proclaimed the founding of the [[People's Republic of China]]. The city's name was restored to Beijing, which again served as the national capital.<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 168</ref> At the time, the city limits contained {{convert|707|km2|abbr=on}} of territory<ref name="Territory">(Chinese) [http://www.da.dl.gov.cn/MainPageServlet?ctrl=xxxxPublic&id=4963 建国初期北京市界的四次调整 in 《中国档案报•档案大观》 5th Ed.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232733/http://www.da.dl.gov.cn/MainPageServlet?ctrl=xxxxPublic&id=4963 |date=2013-12-30 }} 2007-03-16</ref> and had just over 2.03 million residents.<ref name="ModernPopulation">(Chinese) [http://zhengwu.beijing.gov.cn/zwzt/jd90/xzlt/t1168488.htm Zhou Jin (周进) "新中国成立以来北京城市规划与人口发展" 《北京学研究文集2008》] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001406/http://zhengwu.beijing.gov.cn/zwzt/jd90/xzlt/t1168488.htm |date=2013-12-31 }} Accessed 2012-12-08</ref> Over the next sixty years, the city would reach unprecedented size in both territory (expanding 23-fold) and population (growing ten-fold) as well as political stature and importance. As the political center of a highly centralized government, Beijing witnessed and its residents took part in many of the [[Politics of China|political events]] and developments that shaped modern China.

===1949–1958===
[[File:Beijing Office for Women's Production and Education.jpg|thumb|right|170px|After prostitution was banned in Beijing in 1949, former brothels were converted into centers for women's production and education, where former prostitutes received reeducation, career training and medical treatment. At the time, over 90% of prostitutes in Beijing had [[venereal diseases]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Ruan| first = Fang Fu | title = Sex in China: Studies in Sexology in Chinese Culture | publisher = Springer | year = 1991 | page = 75| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eJfXg7zRSe0C&q=beijing+prostitution&pg=PA75 | isbn = 9780306438608}}</ref>]]
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| image3 = THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CHINA TIANAMEN SQUARE BEIJING CHINA OCT 2012 (8812686486).jpg
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[[File:Long life to Chairman Mao.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Mao-era slogans adorn the walls of Plant No. 798, built in 1952 with [[East German]] assistance. In 2002, the plant's [[bauhaus]]-style warehouses were converted into [[798 Art Zone]], a modern art community.]]
The Communist leadership moved swiftly to establish a new order in Beijing. Within weeks of the founding of the new government, [[Prostitution in China|prostitution]] was banned in the city. Some 224 brothels were closed and 1,308 prostitutes were sent to reeducation centers where they received medical treatment and career retraining.<ref>{{Citation| last = Biddulph | first = Sarah | title = Legal Reform and Administrative Detention Powers in China| publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2007 | pages = 71–72 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=05LIXsi34BEC&q=beijing+brothel&pg=PA72 | isbn = 9780521869409}}</ref> Opium use was banned in 1952.

With the abolition of the unequal treaties, the foreign powers were deprived of special rights to station military units and consular offices in the Legation Quarter. The United States, France and Netherlands, which refused to recognize the new government, were forced to abandon their consulates and military offices by 1950.{{sfn|Hoare|1999|loc=70}} The Soviet Union negotiated a move to a new embassy in the northeast corner of the old city.{{sfn|Hoare|1999|loc=70}} The United Kingdom, which recognized the PRC, was among the last countries to leave the legation quarters in 1954.{{sfn|Hoare|1999|loc=71}} A new [[List of diplomatic missions in the People's Republic of China#embassies|embassy]] district emerged east of the city walls in [[Sanlitun]] where allies in the [[Eastern Bloc]] and [[Sino-Third World relations|Third World]] opened diplomatic missions.

As the seat of power for the People's Republic, Beijing was transformed to reflect the ideals of socialist state. At a planning conference in November 1949, chaired by mayor [[Nie Rongzhen]], renowned architect [[Liang Sicheng]] proposed to preserve the architectural integrity of the old walled city by building a new urban area and government center in [[Wukesong]], Sanlihe, and Diaoyutai {{convert|10|km|abbr=on}} west of Tiananmen.<ref>[[#WangJun|Wang Jun 2010]]: 104, 143</ref> Advisors from the Soviet Union countered with a proposal to concentrate new government buildings in the old urban core especially around Tiananmen Square.<ref name="Wang Jun 2010: 104">[[#WangJun|Wang Jun 2010]]: 104</ref> Building in the old city would enable government employees to reside in existing city neighborhoods as adding new residential units to accommodate a new government center in the suburbs was deemed uneconomical.<ref>[[#WangJun|Wang Jun 2010]]: 105-108, 110</ref> The Soviet advisors also called for the city to industrialize, noting that workers accounted for only four percent of the local population and that the capital of a Communist government ought to have a strong [[proletarian]] class.<ref name="Wang Jun 2010: 104"/> The Soviet proposals largely prevailed and guided Beijing's urban planning for the next decade.

[[Tiananmen Square]] was expanded to accommodate large public rallies and parades. Landmark [[Ten Great Buildings|buildings and monuments]], influenced by the [[socialist realism|socialist-realist]] style from the Soviet Union, including the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]], [[Great Hall of the People]], and the [[National Museum of China]], were completed by 1959, in time for the [[10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China|10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic]]. Many neighborhoods in the old city were razed to make room for factories, government bureaus and apartment buildings. Many palaces and gardens were converted to residences, schools and offices. Large factories were built in the western and eastern suburbs. The national leadership took residence in the [[Zhongnanhai]], to the west of the [[Forbidden City]], where the Ming dynasty royal garden and palace stood. The [[Beijing city fortifications|city wall]] fell into disrepair and was demolished in the 1960s during the construction of the [[Beijing Subway]] and replaced by what is now the [[2nd Ring Road (Beijing)|2nd Ring Road]].<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 217</ref>

During the [[Korean War]], Beijing hosted the [[Asia and Pacific Rim Peace Conference]], the city's first major international gathering. The conference, organized by [[Soong Ching-ling|Mme. Sun Yat-sen]], [[Guo Moruo]] and [[Peng Zhen]] and held at the Peace Hotel on October 2–12, 1952, was attended by over 400 delegates from 37 countries. The newly developed residential neighborhood of [[Hepingli Subdistrict, Beijing|Hepingli]], or Place of Peace, was named after the conference.

The city became the most concentrated center for higher education and academic research in China. Though foreign-funded universities were closed or converted to public institutions—[[Yenching University]] merged into Peking University, which moved from the city centre to the Yenching campus in the northwest suburbs and [[Fu Jen Catholic University]] merged into [[Beijing Normal University]]—the [[List of universities and colleges in Beijing|number of universities in Beijing]] swelled with the relocation of institutions from guerilla areas such as [[Renmin University of China|Renmin University]], [[Beijing Institute of Technology|BIT]], [[Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party|Central Party School]], [[Minzu University of China|Central Nationalities Institute]], and [[Beijing Foreign Studies University]], and the opening of national academies and institutes by various ministries.

From 1949 to 1958, the city steadily acquired land from neighboring Hebei Province.<ref name="Territory"/> The last major additions occurred in 1958 with the incorporation of nine counties: [[Tongzhou District, Beijing|Tong County (now Tongzhou District)]], [[Shunyi District|Shunyi]], [[Daxing District|Daxing]], [[Liangxiang, Beijing|Liangxiang (now part of Fangshan District)]], [[Fangshan District|Fangshan]], [[Pinggu District|Pinggu]], [[Miyun]], [[Huairou]] and [[Yanqing County|Yanqing]], adding {{convert|11988|km2|abbr=on}} for a total of {{convert|16800|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Territory"/> In 1958, the municipal population reached 6,318,497, of which 31.5% resided in the walled city, 29% in the immediate suburbs and the remainder in outlying towns and rural areas.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> City planners set a target population of 10 million for Beijing.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/>

{{multiple image
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| caption3 = Beijing No. 1 Machinery Factory
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| caption5 = Beijing Heavy Machinery Plant
|footer =  All photos from ''[[China Pictorial]]''}}

===Great Leap Forward===
{{See also|Great Leap Forward}}
In January 1958, Mao kicked off the second [[Five-Year Plans of the People's Republic of China|Five Year Plan]] with an ambitious campaign to accelerate economic development. The [[Great Leap Forward]] sought to overcome China's shortage of capital through mass mobilization, using large-scale [[People's commune|collectivized farms]] to boost agricultural output and the food surplus to free up labor for industrial development. In urban Beijing, as in other cities, new apartment buildings were constructed without kitchens. Instead, residents dined in communal mess halls, which served free meals. Residents were mobilized to produce steel in homemade [[backyard furnace]]s using personal metal possessions (such as pots and cutlery, which they were presumed to no longer need as cooking was done centrally by the mess halls).<ref name="Jinshiye1"/> The campaign hastened the demolition of city walls, whose bricks were used to build the furnaces. The low grade [[pig iron]] produced from these furnaces were ill-suited for industrial use. The policy was a complete failure and the misallocation of resources halted the city's reconstruction plans for years.{{Citation needed span||date=August 2019|reason=}}
[[File:CIA Archives Chinas Great Leap Forward Part 1 1958.ogv|thumb|right|Documentary film of daily life in Beijing in 1958. Part 1 of CIA film on the [[Great Leap Forward]]]]
Among the most quixotic features early in the campaign was the effort to exterminate the [[Four Pests Campaign|Four Pests]], including sparrows, which were blamed for eating grain.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.thjunshi.com/jmda/2012/9/12/12129_4.shtml 中国"痛剿麻雀"旷古奇观] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209044546/http://www.thjunshi.com/jmda/2012/9/12/12129_4.shtml |date=2012-12-09 }} 2012-09-12</ref> At the height of this effort in April 1958, over three million residents using fire crackers, gongs, clanging pots and colorful flags, literally deprived sparrows (and other birds) a place to land in the city so that the birds flew until they dropped dead from fatigue. Over 400,000 sparrows (and countless other birds) were killed over a three-day period.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.thjunshi.com/jmda/2012/9/12/12129_5.shtml 讲述1958年除四害运动的来龙去脉] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209044628/http://www.thjunshi.com/jmda/2012/9/12/12129_5.shtml |date=2012-12-09 }} 2012-09-12</ref> The campaign was halted after the eradication of [[Old World sparrow|sparrows]] led to a spike in the [[locust]] population.

Throughout the summer and fall of 1958 the quality and quantity of food served at communal mess halls steadily declined, and mess halls were shut down altogether in early 1959.<ref name="Jinshiye1">(Chinese) [http://xzj.2000y.com/mb/1/readnews.asp?newsid=202860 记忆中的大跃进（一）大炼钢铁] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001244/http://xzj.2000y.com/mb/1/readnews.asp?newsid=202860 |date=2013-12-31 }} 2004-12-06</ref> Residents instead received food ration tickets (15–17 kilos of grain per month for each man, 13.75&nbsp;kg for each woman, 12.75&nbsp;kg for young adults, 3.75&nbsp;kg for children under age 10).<ref name="Jinshiye2">(Chinese) [http://xzj.2000y.com/mb/1/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=202863 记忆中的大跃进（二）大锅饭] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235309/http://xzj.2000y.com/mb/1/ReadNews.asp?NewsID=202863 |date=2013-12-30 }} 2004-12-06</ref> Due to bullish grain production forecast, winter wheat was not planted in 1958 leaving no harvest in the spring of 1959.<ref name="Jinshiye2"/> By May 1959, residents were forced to supplement their meager diet with [[elm]] bark, [[Phragmites|reed]] roots, [[willow]] shoots, wild [[amaranth]], wild [[celery]] and other edible wild plants.<ref name="Jinshiye2"/> Malnutrition became widespread in the city. Some 420,000 residents were sent to the countryside because the city could no longer support them. The food shortage caused the rate of "deaths from non-natural causes" in the Beijing to climb from 3.64% of the total population in 1958 to 4.4% in 1961, an increase of 90,000 deaths.<ref name="XieWendou">(Chinese) [http://www.21ccom.net/articles/wztj/2012/1114/70969.html 谢文斗 "中国大跃进期间(1958～1962年)非正常死亡人口"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234730/http://www.21ccom.net/articles/wztj/2012/1114/70969.html |date=2013-12-30 }} 2012-11-14</ref> The famine was far more severe in other provinces where the unnatural death rate in 1960 was as high as 13.8% in Anhui and 9.08% in [[Sichuan]].<ref name="XieWendou"/>

Mao initially clung to the Great Leap Forward, firing defense minister [[Peng Dehuai]] for objecting to the policy line at the [[Lushan Plenum]] in 1959. But as the scale of the disaster became more apparent, an extraordinary work conference for cadres from around the country was hastily convened in Beijing in early 1962. At the so-called 7,000 Cadre Conference held from January 11 to February 7, President [[Liu Shaoqi]] and [[Deng Xiaoping]] reported the severe decline in the economy and called for urgent course correction, citing numerous policy failures. Mao acknowledged that mistakes were made and the need for cadres to vent. Only [[Lin Biao]], the new defense minister, prominently defended Chairman Mao. Liu and Deng's policy arguments drew extensively on research prepared by the Beijing Municipal Government and provided by mayor [[Peng Zhen]]. The conference paved the way for economic recovery led by Liu and Deng but also planted the seeds for the Cultural Revolution.

===Cultural Revolution===
{{See also|Cultural Revolution}}
The [[Cultural Revolution|Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution]], Chairman Mao's campaign to change the social and cultural fabric of Chinese society, was launched from and ultimately halted in Beijing, with profound consequences for the city and country.

Mao initiated the campaign by directing attacks against political-literary figures in Beijing. The first target was [[Wu Han (historian)|Wu Han]], the deputy mayor of Beijing and historian, whose book ''[[Hai Rui Dismissed from Office]]'', adapted from a Peking opera about [[Hai Rui|an incorruptible Ming-era official]], had been praised by Mao in the early 1960s. But on November 10, 1965, the work was criticized by Shanghai propagandist [[Yao Wenyuan]] as an attempt to rehabilitate [[Peng Dehuai]]. Yao was supported by Mao's wife [[Jiang Qing]]. The scope of attack then expanded to the "Three Family Village", so-named for a column in the ''[[People's Daily]]'' jointly written by Wu Han, [[Deng Tuo]], the editor of the newspaper, and Liao Mosha, another Beijing literary figure and official. The trio was accused of making veiled attacks against Maoism. Deng Tuo committed suicide and Wu Han later died in prison. Their fall implicated the mayor of Beijing, [[Peng Zhen]], who was accused of running the city government as his fiefdom and harboring anti-party conspirators. The attack on Peng Zhen, in turn, undermined the standing of [[Liu Shaoqi]], an ally of Peng and Mao's ultimate target. The [[Politics of Beijing|Beijing Municipal Government]] became the first casualty of the revolution; its leaders were replaced with radical Maoists.

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|footer = ''From left:'' (1) Students at [[Beijing Normal University]] writing [[big-character posters]] denouncing [[Liu Shaoqi]]; (2) Big-characters posted on the campus of [[Peking University]]; (3) Red guards at No. 23 Middle School wave the ''[[Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung|Little Red Book of the Quotations of Chairman Mao]]'' in a classroom revolution rally. All photos from ''[[China Pictorial]]''}}
[[File:1966-11 1966年毛泽东林彪与红卫兵.jpg|thumb|160px|right|[[Mao Zedong]] and [[Lin Biao]] surrounded by rallying Red Guards in Beijing. Source: ''[[China Pictorial]]'']]
As Mao expanded the power struggle at the elite level in the spring of 1966, he encouraged youth from Beijing's universities and high school to join his campaign. On May 16, 1966, Mao unveiled the "May 16 Circular", which officially launched a Cultural Revolution to cleanse the party and country of [[bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] and [[revisionism (Marxism)|Soviet revisionist]] elements such as Peng Zhen. On May 25, 1966, several junior faculty at Peking University led by [[Nie Yuanzi]], wrote a "[[big-character poster]]" accusing the school administrators of obstructing the Cultural Revolution and calling on the masses to destroy [[counter revolutionary]] and pro-[[Khrushchev]] elements. Nie was initially rebuked by the university but her poster was published nationally with Mao's blessing in the ''People's Daily'' on June 2 . On June 18, Peking University students held the first [[struggle session]] denouncing their teachers. Jiang Qing visited campus to lend her support to the rebellions students. By July 29, classes at all universities and high schools in the city were halted as students mobilized to join the Cultural Revolution.
[[File:1966-11 1966年9月15日天安门游行-八届十一中.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Tiananmen Square]] on September 15, 1966, the occasion of Chairman Mao's third of eight mass rallies with Red Guards in 1966.<ref>(Chinese) [http://news.cri.cn/gb/9223/2006/04/19/1266@1007752_1.htm "毛泽东八次接见红卫兵始末(上) " ''新闻午报''] 2006-04-19</ref> Source: ''[[China Pictorial]]'']]
On May 29, a group of students at [[High School attached to Tsinghua University|Tsinghua University Middle School]], organized the first "[[Red Guard (China)|Red Guard]]" group to protect Chairman Mao from the enemies of the revolution. Students at other Beijing schools followed. In August, Mao praised the Red Guards and called on them to "[[bombard the headquarters]]" of bourgeois elements in government. The movement spread and Mao ordered that the Red Guards be given free rides on trains and room and board across the country to spread the revolution.<ref name=WangYouQin/> From August 18 to November 26, he presided over eight Red Guard rallies in Tiananmen Square attended by over 11 million youth. The rallies helped drive Liu Shaoqi from power.

[[File:Beijing 1968 I.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A 1968 city map showing streets and landmarks renamed during the [[Cultural Revolution]]. For example, Andingmen Inner Street became "Great Leap Forward Road"; Taijichang Street became the "Road for Eternal Revolution"; Dongjiaominxiang, the main street of the former [[Beijing Legation Quarter|Legation Quarter]], was renamed "Anti-Imperialist Road"; [[Beihai Park]] was renamed "Worker-Peasant-Soldier Park" and [[Jingshan Park]] became "Red Guard Park". Most of the Cultural Revolution-era name changes were later reversed.]]
Having halted classes and toppled school administrations, the Red Guards then turned to [[Five Black Categories|enemies of the revolution]] in broader society. They ransacked homes of class enemies in search of incriminating evidence, smashed cultural relics deemed to be [[four olds|remnants of feudal culture]], and struggled against political and cultural luminaries who were accused of following the [[capitalist roader|capitalist road]]. Within one month of Mao's first rally on August 18, they ransacked 114,000 homes in the city, seizing 3.3 million items and [[Renminbi|¥]]75.2 million in cash.{{sfn|Wang|2003|loc=[http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/chapter_38681_23161.html "彻底清除旧物质文化"(2)]}} During the height of the Red Guard fervor in August and September, at least 1,772 residents were killed.<ref name=WangYouQin>[http://humanities.uchicago.edu/faculty/ywang/history/1966teacher.htm Youqin Wang, "Student Attacks Against Teachers: The Revolution of 1966" Memorial for Victims of the Chinese Cultural Revolution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009112758/http://humanities.uchicago.edu/faculty/ywang/history/1966teacher.htm |date=2009-10-09 }} Accessed 2012-12-06</ref> Many were driven to suicide or beaten to death by the Red Guards.<ref name=WangYouQin/> Notable Beijing residents who took their own lives include deputy mayor Liu Ren, renowned writer [[Lao She]] and [[table tennis]] star and coach [[Rong Guotuan]]. Countless others suffered public humiliation, beatings and extrajudicial detentions at the hands of Red Guards and rebels. Many historical sites, including those designated by the city's historical protection bureau, were damaged or destroyed in the mayhem. Landmarks such as the Temple of Heaven, Beihai, Old and New Summer Palaces, Ming Tombs, [[Yonghe Temple|Yonghe Lamsery]] and the Great Wall were also targeted.{{sfn|Wang|2003|loc=[http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/chapter_38681_23162.html "彻底清除旧物质文化"(3)]}} Almost all houses of worship were shut down. The Forbidden City was protected on the orders of Premier [[Zhou Enlai]].{{sfn|MacFaquhar|Schoenhals|2006|p=119}} Many city streets were renamed after revolutionary slogans. The Red Guards sought to rename the city itself as East is Red City.{{sfn|MacFaquhar|Schoenhals|2006|p=119}}

By 1967, with schools closed and authority figures toppled, Red Guard factions began to compete with each other for control of institutions they had seized.<ref>Andrew G. Walder, "Ambiguity and Choice in Political Movements: the Origins of Beijing Red Guard Factionalism." ''American Journal of Sociology'' 2006 112(3): 710–750. {{ISSN|0002-9602}} Fulltext: [[EBSCO Information Services|Ebsco]]</ref><ref>Joel Andreas, "Institutionalized Rebellion: Governing Tsinghua University During the Late Years of the Chinese Cultural Revolution" ''China Journal'' 2006 (55): 1-28. {{ISSN|1324-9347}} Fulltext: [[EBSCO Information Services|Ebsco]]</ref> The clashes grew violent, and some groups turned to challenge Jiang Qing. In 1968, Mao ordered the military to [[Revolutionary Committee (China)|take control of government]], universities and factories and had the Red Guards disband and leave the city for the countryside where they would "[[Down to the Countryside Movement|undergo reeducation from the peasants]]". Hundreds of thousands of [[sent-down youth|educated youth]] from Beijing were sent to rural and pastoralist areas.

The Cultural Revolution exacerbated [[Sino-Soviet split|tensions with the Soviet Union]] and some 300,000 city residents were mobilized to build elaborate underground bunkers designed to shelter up to 40% of the city's population in the event of a nuclear attack.<ref name=WangZhiyong>Wang, Zhiyong. "[http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/125961.htm Beijing's Underground City]". China Internet Information Center (2005-04-15). Accessed 2012-12-06.</ref> Beijing's [[Underground City (Beijing)|Underground City]], built from 1969 to 1979, was later converted to underground shopping centers and a museum.<ref name=WangZhiyong/>

At the [[9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|Ninth Party Congress]] held in Beijing in April 1969, Mao declared the Cultural Revolution completed and named Lin Biao as successor. But on September 13, 1971, Lin died in a plane crash as he tried to flee to the U.S.S.R. following an [[Project 571 Outline|unsuccessful coup plot against Mao]]. After Lin's death, colleges were reopened to "[[Worker-Peasant-Soldier student]]s" and some of the purged old guard leaders such as [[Deng Xiaoping]] were partially rehabilitated, but radical [[Gang of Four]], led by Jiang Qing, [[Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius|continued to hold sway]].
{{multiple image
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
| header = Beijing at the time of the [[1972 Nixon visit to China|Nixon visit in 1972]]
| header_align = center
| header_background =
| image1 = Arrival of Air Force One in Peking - NARA - 194412.jpg
| width1 = 190
| caption1 =
| image2 = President Richard and Pat Nixon on Great Wall.png
| width2 = 96
| caption2 =
|image4 = Pat Nixon in China.jpg
| width4 = 180
| caption4 =
|image3 = Nixon at an athletic exhibition in Peking - NARA - 194757.jpg
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| caption3 =
|image6 = Ballet scene at the Great Hall of the People attended by President and Mrs. Nixon during their trip to Peking, China - NARA - 194416.tif
| width6 = 185
| caption6 =
|footer = [[Richard Nixon]]'s [[1972 Nixon visit to China|visit to Beijing in 1972]], the first by a sitting U.S. president to China, marked the beginning of the People's Republic's orientation toward the [[Western bloc]], the normalization of [[Sino-American relations|Sino-U.S. relations]] and the return of Western diplomatic and business interests to the city. Captions from left: (1) [[Air Force One]] at the [[Beijing Capital International Airport|Capital Airport]]; (2) Richard and [[Pat Nixon]] at the [[Badaling]] [[Great Wall]], (3) the diplomatic opening was facilitated by "[[Ping-pong diplomacy|ping pong diplomacy]]", and leaders of the two countries watched a [[table tennis]] exhibition at the [[Capital Indoor Stadium]]; (4) Pat Nixon visits a neighborhood -- the [[Revolutionary Committee (China)|Revolution Committee]] at the Sijiqing [[People's commune|People's Commune]] -- in Haidian District; (5) the American delegation was treated to a performance of the [[revolutionary opera|revolutionary ballet]], ''[[Red Detachment of Women (ballet)|Red Detachment of Women]]'' at the [[Great Hall of the People]].
}}

In July 1971, [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Richard Nixon]] announced that he would be [[Nixon goes to China|going to China]] and made a [[1972 Nixon visit to China|historic trip in February 1972]] during which he met with Mao in Beijing, visited the Great Wall, received [[Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing|a pair of giant pandas]] from the [[Beijing Zoo]] and began the process of [[Sino-American relations|normalizing Sino-U.S. relations]]. The Nixon trip and the [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|accession of the People's Republic]] to the [[China and the United Nations|China seat at the United Nations]] in October 1971, marked the beginning of the country's diplomatic orientation toward the [[Western bloc]]. In 1971–72, 30 countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America, [[Timeline of diplomatic relations of the Republic of China|severed ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan]] and [[Dates of establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China|established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China]]. The embassy district in eastern Beijing, outside Dongzhimen, Chaoyangmen and Jianguomen began to expand with diplomatic compounds, hotels, and Western business interests, and eventually developed into the city's [[Beijing CBD|Central Business District]].

{{multiple image
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| direction = horizontal
| image1 =Jinianbei.jpg
| width1 = 120
| caption1 =
| image2 = BeijingTiananmenSquare.jpg
| width2 = 232
| caption2 =
|footer = The [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] was erected in [[Tiananmen Square]] in 1958 to commemorate the martyrs of revolutions in modern Chinese history. Mourners of [[Zhou Enlai]] laid thousands of floral wreaths at and around the foot of the monument during the [[April 5th Movement]] of 1976. The Monument later became the gathering point student leaders during the [[1989 Tiananmen Square Protests]]. Behind the Monument is the [[Mao Zedong Mausoleum]], completed in 1977.}}

After Zhou Enlai died on January 8, 1976, Yao Wenyuan published a series of propaganda works criticizing the legacy of Zhou, which drew widespread public disapproval. On March 20, 1976, students from the Niufang Primary School laid a wreath at the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Zhou, and others followed.{{sfn|MacFaquhar|Schoenhals|2006|pp=422-23}} Many of the wreaths carried poems remembering the Premier also criticized the Gang of Four through allegorical allusions. By the time of [[Qingming Festival]] on April 4, a traditional tomb-sweeping holiday, the square was filled with wreaths and poetry and an estimated two million city residents visited to pay their respects.<ref>(Chinese) [http://www.southcn.com/nflr/dswk/ghls/shzygmjs/200311190902.htm "四五运动"纪实] 2003-11-19</ref> The following day, the Gang of Four ordered the police to seize and destroy the wreaths and seal off the square from further access. In clashes with residents, hundreds were arrested. The [[April Fifth Incident]], the largest spontaneous public gathering against the Cultural Revolution, was branded a counter-revolutionary criminal incident blamed on Deng Xiaoping, who was purged.<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 207</ref>

Mao died in Beijing on September 9, 1976, and [[Mao Zedong Mausoleum|his mausoleum]] in Tiananmen Square was completed one year later. Less than one month after his death on October 7, 1976, the Gang of Four was arrested in Zhongnanhai by Mao's former [[Central Security Bureau|security chief]], [[Wang Dongxing]], in a bloodless coup supported by Mao's anointed successor [[Hua Guofeng]] and military chief [[Ye Jianying]]. The arrests ended the Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping was rehabilitated and then wrested power away from Hua. At the [[Third Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee]] held in December 1978, the Party, under Deng's leadership, rehabilitated the victims of Cultural Revolution, reversed the verdict of the April Fifth Incident, and adopted a policy course of [[History of the People's Republic of China (1976–1989)#Economic Reform and Opening up|economic reforms]]. [[National Higher Education Entrance Examination|College entrance exams]] were restored in 1977 and most of the rusticated youth returned to the city.

===1976–1989===
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| header = Residential architecture in Beijing
| header_align = center
| image1 = Siheyuan2.JPG
| width1 = 180
| caption1 = traditional courtyard residence
| image2 = Hepingli Residences.jpg
| width2 = 180
| caption2 = Socialist walk-up apartment blocks built in [[Hepingli Subdistrict, Beijing|Hepingli]] in the 1960s
| image3 = Vm-4355-Beijing-Observatory-city-view-from-the-top-platform.jpg
| width3 = 180
| caption3 = Jianguomen Diplomatic Residences built in 1971
| image4 = Beijing northeast.jpg
| width4 = 180
| caption4 = Apartment blocks built in Xibahe in the 1980s
| image5 = Tiantongyuan.jpg
| width5= 180
| caption5 = Apartment blocks built in Tiantongyuan in the 1990s and 2000s
| image6 = Shiji Xingcheng, Beiyuan Subdistrict, Tongzhou District, 2013-05-23.jpg
| width6= 180
| caption6 = Apartment blocks in [[Beijing Municipal Administrative Center]] (Tongzhou district)
}}

====Beijing Spring====
{{See also|Beijing Spring|Democracy Wall}}
As the national leadership was changing course, a brief period of political openness in the city known as [[Beijing Spring]] gave rise to a grassroots [[Chinese democracy movement|pro-democracy movement]].<ref>Lauri Paltemaa, "Individual and Collective Identities of the Beijing Democracy Wall Movement Activists, 1978-1981." ''China Information'' 2005 19(3): 443-487. {{ISSN|0920-203X}}</ref> In September 1978, a magazine of the [[Communist Youth League of China|Party Youth League]], under the leadership of party liberal [[Hu Yaobang]], sought to publish poetry from the April 5th Incident.{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=251}} The publication was blocked by propaganda chief Wang Dongxing for failing to praise Mao.{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=251}} In November, the articles were instead posted on a wall near a bus stop on [[Chang'an Avenue]] at [[Xidan]], west of Tiananmen Square. Subsequently, [[Huang Xiang]] and several poets from [[Guizhou]], who had posted [[political poetry]] outside the ''People's Daily'' office on [[Wangfujing|Wangfujing Avenue]] in October, also posted their works on the wall. Others soon followed suit and the [[Democracy Wall|Xidan Democracy Wall]], as it became known, attracted thousands of posters and hundreds of thousands of readers.{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=252}} Victims of the Cultural Revolution sought justice—some called for the release of those jailed in the April Fifth Incident of 1976; some criticized Mao and Hua Guofeng's [[Two Whatevers|continuation of the Maoist line]]; and others complained of youth unable to return from the countryside.{{sfn|Baum|1996|pp=70-71}}{{sfn|Vogel|2011|pp=252-53}} On November 26, Deng Xiaoping told a visiting Japanese politician that the writing of the [[big-character posters]] was protected by the Constitution.{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=253}} On December 5, [[Wei Jingsheng]], an electrician at the Beijing Zoo, posted ''[[The Fifth Modernization]]'' a call for political reform.{{sfn|Baum|1996|p=73}} A public forum convened at the Monument to the People's Heroes where speakers debated the political future of the country.{{sfn|Baum|1996|p=72}}

On January 3, 1979, a ''People's Daily'' editorial, declared: "Let the people's say what they wish. The heavens will not fall."{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=253}} On January 14, a crowd of Cultural Revolution victims marched from Tiananmen Square to Zhongnanhai calling for food, work, democracy and human rights.{{sfn|Baum|1996|p=77}}{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=254}} A China Human Rights Association was formed and distributed 19-point declaration demanding the [[freedom of speech]] and right to evaluate state leaders.{{sfn|Vogel|2011|p=255}} The gatherings and public challenge to authority alarmed party conservatives who pressed Deng to take a harder line and he did so after consolidating control of the party. In late March, the city government restricted public postings and gatherings to only Xidan. Wei Jingsheng was arrested, and convicted and sentenced in October to 15 years in imprisonment for leaking state secrets about [[Sino-Vietnamese War|China's war with Vietnam]]. In December 1979, postings at the Xidan Wall were banned and instead consigned to the [[Temple of the Moon (China)|Temple of the Moon]].<ref>(Chinese) [http://pic.people.com.cn/GB/164277/171489/171762/10242712.html "1979年12月6日：西单"民主墙"禁贴大字报" People.com.cn] 2009-10-23</ref>{{sfn|Baum|1996|p=79}} In 1980, the [[1978 Constitution of the People's Republic of China|State Constitution (1978 version)]] was amended to eliminate the right to post big-character posters. Although Beijing Spring ended, the tensions within the party between liberals and conservatives over the toleration of dissent continued into the next decade.

====Urban planning in the 1980s====
As the city emerged from the [[History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)|Mao era]], urban planning in Beijing moved in a new direction. In April 1980, in reviewing the city's application for infrastructure funding, [[Hu Yaobang]], the newly designated [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP General Party Secretary]] set forth the guiding principles for Beijing's development.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> As the country's political center, Beijing should become a center for international exchange to support China's opening to the world.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> As a window to the world, the city should be the most orderly, clean and scenic city in the country.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> The city should also strive to become among the most advanced in the world for science and technology, culture and education.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> The city should raise the standard of living for its residents and develop an economy suitable for the unique qualities of the national capital.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> Beijing would no longer attract heavy industry.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> In 1981, city planners devised a blueprint that organized urban expansion around concentric ring roads.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> The aging inner core of the city, where the historical relics are concentrated, would have low density development and renewed over time.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> New enterprises would be built in the second band (between the [[2nd Ring Road (Beijing)|2nd]] and [[3rd Ring Road (Beijing)|3rd Ring Roads]]).<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> With the imposition of the [[one-child policy]], city planners expected to control the city's population to 10 million by 2000 with 40% living in the urban center and the remainder in residential communities scattered around the third band.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> Examples of these satellite communities include the [[Yayuncun|Asian Games Village]] in the north and [[Fangzhuang]] in the south. [[Beijing Subway]]'s first line, which commenced trial operations in 1969 but was plagued by technical problems, finally passed inspection assessments in 1981.

====1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre====
{{Main|1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre|People's Liberation Army at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre}}

The [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|student-led demonstrations in the spring of 1989]], which drew broad support from city residents, attracted worldwide attention and exposed deep divisions within the country's leadership, ended in bloodshed on June 3–4, as conservative leaders ordered a military crackdown of unprecedented force. The confrontation in Tiananmen Square was the culmination of a decade-long debate within the Communist Party and society over the freedom of expression and the course of political reform.

As liberal leaders [[Hu Yaobang]] and [[Zhao Ziyang]] guided the country through economic reforms, conservative leaders pushed back with a [[Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign|Campaign against "Spiritual Pollution"]] in 1983. [[Paramount leader]] [[Deng Xiaoping]] sided with the reformers and ended that campaign. By 1986, newspaper editorials began calling for political reform and university students organized democracy salons. Liberal physicist [[Fang Lizhi]] toured campuses, advocating democratic reforms and the independence of universities from the government. In December 1986, student protests in [[Hefei]] spread to Beijing, where students marched around campuses in the university district northwest of the city, calling for direct election of political representatives, freedom of the press and release of [[List of Chinese dissidents|political prisoners]].{{sfn|Yang|2011|pp=288-97}} On January 1 and 2, 1987, several hundred students attempted to march on Tiananmen Square in defiance of orders of the city government.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=297}} The protests attracted little public attention but [[Eight Elders|party conservatives]] reacted with fury at Hu Yaobang for his "weak" response to "[[bourgeois liberalism]]".{{sfn|Yang|2011|pp=300-09}} Hu Yaobang was forced to resign on January 17 and Fang Lizhi was expelled from the Communist Party.{{sfn|Yang|2011|pp=310-11}} Zhao Ziyang succeeded Hu as [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|Party General Secretary]] and [[Li Peng]] became [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Premier]].<ref name="GoHP chronology">[http://www.tsquare.tv/chronology/ "20th CENTURY CHINA: A PARTIAL CHRONOLOGY"] ''[[The Gate of Heavenly Peace]]'' Accessed 2013-06-23</ref>
[[File:Zhongnanhai-south-gates-3438.jpg|thumb|right|The New China Gate to [[Zhongnanhai]] on [[Chang'an Avenue]] between Tiananmen Square and Xidan. Shortly after [[Hu Yaobang]]'s death in April 1989, university students staged a silent sit-in outside the gate, demanding dialogue with the leadership. The sit-in was dispersed by police and provoked the first large-scale student march on April 21.]]
When Hu Yaobang died suddenly on April 15, 1989, university students laid wreaths at the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] and organized sit-ins outside the [[Great Hall of the People]] and [[Zhongnanhai]]. They demanded the Party rescind past criticism of Hu, renounce the campaigns against spiritual pollution and bourgeois liberalism, disclose the assets of the family members of party officials, lift orders against public assembly, permit freedom of the press, and increase salaries for university graduates.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=389}} On the night of April 21, 100,000 students marched into Tiananmen Square to attend Hu's funeral, which was held inside the Great Hall of the People the following day.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/> Officials inside the Hall did not meet with students in the Square, who began to boycott classes.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/> Workers formed [[Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation|an independent union]] and joined the protests. On April 23, as Zhao Ziyang was departing for a trip to North Korea, he told Li Peng to restore normalcy, avoid worsening tensions with students and refrain from using force, except against those who commit offenses against life and property.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=368}}
[[File:Victims of Communism Memorial - Washington, D.C..jpg|thumb|left|A bronze replica of the ''[[Goddess of Democracy]]'' statue in [[Washington, D.C.]] The original plaster of paris statue, created by students and teachers of the [[China Central Academy of Fine Arts|Central Academy of Arts]], stood in Tiananmen Square for six days from May 30 to June 4, 1989, and was torn down by the military enforcing martial law.]]
On April 24, at a meeting of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|politburo]] chaired by Li Peng, Beijing Party Secretary [[Li Ximing]] and Mayor [[Chen Xitong]] said the student demonstrations were manipulated by plotters seeking to overthrow the party-state and had to be halted. The following day, Deng Xiaoping, after hearing reports from Premier Li Peng and [[President of the People's Republic of China|President]] [[Yang Shangkun]], called the demonstrations a "disturbance" that was to be halted through coercive measures.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=370}} Deng's characterization was published in the [[April 26 Editorial|''People's Daily'' editorial of April 26]]. The students felt maligned by the editorial and 100,000 from more than 40 universities marched to the city center, past Tiananmen Square to the [[Lama Temple]], breaking through police blockades along the way.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/>{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=375}}

When Zhao Ziyang returned from North Korea, he delivered a conciliatory speech commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the [[#World War I and the May 4th Movement|May Fourth Movement]], which was favorably received by the students.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=378}} On May 4, he also told the board of the [[Asian Development Bank]] that there would not be turmoil in China, that the students, who accepted the country's reforms, were not fundamentally opposed to party leadership and socialism, but simply wanted leaders to correct errors in their work. Students from 47 institutions, including thousands streaming in from other parts of the country, marched on May 4 without police interference.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=379}} On May 8, Zhao Ziyang chaired a [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|politburo standing committee meeting]] and proposed six points of reform including the disclosure of officials' assets, expanded press freedoms and rule of law.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=383}} [[Wan Li]], [[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress|chairman]] of the [[National People's Congress]], called a parliamentary session for June 20 to consider the reform agenda.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=383}} Li Peng, however, opposed the agenda, and only a portion of which was published in the ''People's Daily'' on May 9.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=383}}

[[File:Hall of Tanks, Beijing Military Museum.jpg|thumb|right|The Hall of Tanks inside the [[Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution]], on [[Chang'an Avenue]] in western Beijing. At nearby Muxidi on the night of June 3, soldiers of the 38th Army opened fire on civilian demonstrators. The following morning, the [[People's Liberation Army at Tiananmen Square protests of 1989#Aftermath#28th Army|28th Army]] was surrounded at Muxidi by angry residents showing bloody clothing from the massacre the night before. The 28th Army's commanders defied orders to counterattack and instead had troops retreat into the museum, leaving their vehicles to be burned by protesters outside.<ref name="WuRenhua">(Chinese) [http://www.chinesepen.org/Article/hyxz/201101/Article_20110117143207.shtml 英年早逝的'六四'抗命将领张明春少将] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219144305/http://www.chinesepen.org/Article/hyxz/201101/Article_20110117143207.shtml |date=2013-12-19 }} 2011-01-17</ref>]]

On May 13, to support political reforms and demonstrate their peaceful resolve, about 300 students began a hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, which soon expanded to thousands.{{sfn|Yang|2011|pp=384-88}} A makeshift tent city was set up for the hunger strikers, who attracted broad public sympathy. On May 15–17, more than million people visited the Square each day.<ref name="Xinhua-June-4-1989"/> Many government employees marched in support. Relaxed censorship allowed news of the hunger strike to be broadcast nationally.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=389}} Foreign press on hand to cover the visit of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] brought worldwide attention to the demonstrations. On May 18, Li Peng met with several student representatives but the two sides failed to agree on how to end the hunger strike.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/> To defuse tensions, Zhao Ziyang tried to persuade Deng Xiaoping to back off of the April 26 editorial, but Li Peng said Zhao's approach was not working and the party center could not afford to speak with two voices.{{sfn|Yang|2011|pp=394-95}} Student protests had spread to 27 cities.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=395}} On the night of May 17, Deng Xiaoping resolved to impose martial law, which was signed by Li Peng and announced by Chen Xitong on May 19. That night, Zhao Ziyang made his final appearance in public, warning the hunger striking students in the Square that he had come too late. The students called off the hunger strike.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/>
[[File:Beijing Hotel pic 3.jpg|thumb|left|The East Building of the [[Beijing Hotel]], built in 1974, was the [[List of tallest buildings in Beijing|tallest building in city]] until 1984. On June 5, 1989, from the hotel's porches overlooking Chang'an Avenue, foreign press took the iconic image of the [[Tank Man|lone protester standing in front a column tanks]].]]
On May 20, at least 180,000 [[People's Liberation Army]] and [[People's Armed Police]] personnel advanced on the city to enforce martial law, but students and Beijing residents managed to block them outside the [[3rd Ring Road (Beijing)|Third Ring Road]] by surrounding their vehicles.{{sfn|Yang|2011|pp=399-400}} Residents brought food and water to the soldiers and pleaded with them not to advance on the peaceful demonstrations. More than a million people marched in defiance of the martial law order, many calling for the resignation of Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng.{{sfn|Yang|2011|p=401}} The troops pulled back on May 23. The [[Xu Qinxian|commander]] of the [[38th Army (People's Republic of China)|38th Army]], who refused to enforce the martial law order, was court-martialed. On May 27, student leaders voted to end their occupation of the Square on May 30, but some students remained, believing that the protests would lose leverage and held out hope that National People's Congress would convene in June. On May 25, Wan Li, who had been on a foreign trip, was summoned by Zhao to call an emergency parliamentary meeting to invalidate the martial law order. But Wan's plane was diverted to Shanghai, and he subsequently declared support for martial law. On May 30, students and teachers from the [[China Central Academy of Fine Arts|Central Academy of Arts]] erected a 10-meter high ''[[Goddess of Democracy]]'' statue in the Square, which boosted student morale and drew millions of visitors.

On the afternoon of June 3, demonstrators confronted soldiers in plain clothes sneaking weapons into the city and police fired tear gas at the demonstrators. That evening, state-run television warned residents to stay indoors but crowds of people took to the streets to block the incoming army. Armored military units [[People's Liberation Army at Tiananmen Square protests of 1989|advanced on Beijing from every cardinal direction]]. At about 10:00 pm troops opened fire on protesters with live ammunition at [[Wukesong]] intersection west of the Square, where the first civilian fatality occurred.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/><ref name="TM fatalities map">{{cite web |language=zh-hans |url=http://www.tiananmenmother.org/the%20truth%20and%20victims/The%20list%20of%20the%20victimes/the%20death%20location%20of%20the%20victims.jpg |publisher=[[Tiananmen Mothers]] |script-title=zh:六四天安门惨案死难者遇难地点示意图 |trans-title=Map of Fatalities from the June Fourth Tiananmen Tragedy |date=February 2008 |access-date=2013-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702062116/http://www.tiananmenmother.org/the%20truth%20and%20victims/The%20list%20of%20the%20victimes/the%20death%20location%20of%20the%20victims.jpg |archive-date=2014-07-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Crowds were stunned and responded by hurling insults and projectiles. Among those killed was Duan Changlong, a [[Tsinghua University]] student, who was shot in the chest as he tried to negotiate with soldiers at [[Xidan]].<ref name="WRH June 3">{{cite web |language=zh-hans |url=http://blog.boxun.com/hero/201106/wurenhua/3_1.shtml? |author=Wu Renhua |script-title=zh:"89天安门事件大事记：6月3日 星期六" |access-date=2013-07-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |language=zh-hans |url=http://www.tiananmenmother.org/the%20truth%20and%20victims/Authentic%20records%20of%20visiting%20the%20victims/authentic_09.htm |script-title=zh:"调停者段昌隆之死" |publisher=Tiananmen Mothers |access-date=2013-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702062146/http://www.tiananmenmother.org/the%20truth%20and%20victims/Authentic%20records%20of%20visiting%20the%20victims/authentic_09.htm |archive-date=2014-07-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Duan was the grand nephew of the warlord [[Duan Qirui]], whose troops were responsible for the [[#Beiyang regime|March 18 Massacre in 1926]], deadliest use of force against students in the history of Beijing until 1989. As news of the lethal force reached the Square, students at the Square were persuaded to leave the Square by several older intellectuals, including future [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner, [[Liu Xiaobo]]. At about 4:00 am, troops from the west and south fought their way to the Square, and at 5:00 am most of the students retreated out of the Square to the south.<ref name="GoHP chronology"/> Several students were hit by lethal gunfire in the Square and nearly a dozen were run over by an armored personnel vehicle west of the Square. Tanks also ran over the tent city. Helicopters lifted away the debris. By dawn of June 4, the army controlled the Square and major intersections around the city although clashes with residents continued. [[Tiananmen Mothers]], a victims' organization, has recorded civilian deaths all along [[Chang'an Avenue]], from [[Wukesong]] in the west to [[Tiananmen]] in the center to [[Jianguomen (Beijing)|Jianguomen]] in the east, and throughout the city, from Hongmiao in the east, [[Hepingli Subdistrict, Beijing|Hepingli]] in the north, and Tianqiao and Zhushikou in the south.<ref name="TM fatalities map"/> [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre#Death toll|Hundreds of civilians were killed, thousands were wounded]] and thousands more were detained.

On June 5, foreign press in the [[Beijing Hotel]] photographed [[Tank Man|a lone protester blocking a long column of tanks driving east of the Square on Chang'an Avenue]]. The identity of this protester, like many facts about the events of spring 1989, remains unknown because the government has barred any reporting, research or remembrance of the "June 4 Incident", which was [[June 9 Deng Speech|officially deemed a counterrevolutionary rebellion]]. Zhao Ziyang was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. [[Jiang Zemin]] assumed the position of [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]]. Martial law was lifted on January 11, 1990.<ref name="Xinhua-June-4-1989">{{cite web |language=zh-hans |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2005-07/31/content_3282815.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050803005430/http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2005-07/31/content_3282815.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 3, 2005 |script-title=zh:"历程：奉命执行北京市部分地区戒严任务" |website=[[Xinhua News]] |date=2005-07-31}}</ref> In subsequent years, first-year students at colleges in Beijing were required to undergo a year of [[Military education and training in China|military training]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/15/world/chinese-college-freshmen-to-join-army-first.html Sheryl WuDunn, "Chinese College Freshmen to Join Army First" N.Y. Times] 1989-08-15</ref>

===1990s===
In 1990, Beijing's long-term [[Hukou system|residential]] population reached 10.32 million, of which 61% were in urban areas.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> In addition, the city had 1.27 million non-resident migrants, for a total population of 11.59 million.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/>

From September 22 to October 7, 1990, Beijing hosted the [[1990 Asian Games|11th Asian Games]], which were held in China for the first time and attended by 6,122 athletes from 37 countries competing in 29 sports. The city was awarded the games in 1984 over [[Osaka]]. The [[Yayuncun|Asian Games Village]] was built north of the city center beyond the Third Ring Road. The Worker Stadium served as the Games' main venue. The city's [[Bids for the 2000 Summer Olympics|bid for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games]] ended in September 1993 with a narrow loss by a vote of 43–45 in the final round to [[Sydney]].

The [[2nd Ring Road (Beijing)|2nd Ring Road]], under construction since the 1960s and built on the foundation of the outer Ming city wall, was finally completed in 1992. Where city gates once stood are now [[overpass|overpass exits]]. The [[3rd Ring Road (Beijing)|3rd Ring Road]] followed in 1993. Construction of the city's three other [[Ring roads of Beijing|ring roads]] began in the 1990s and were completed in 2001 ([[4th Ring Road (Beijing)|4th Ring]]), 2003 ([[5th Ring Road (Beijing)|5th Ring]]) and 2009 ([[6th Ring Road (Beijing)|6th Ring]]).

The 1990s and the start of the new millennium were a period of rapid economic growth in Beijing. Following the [[Chinese economic reform|economic reforms]] of [[Deng Xiaoping]], what was once farmland surrounding the city was developed into new residential and commercial districts.<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 255</ref> Modern expressways and high-rise buildings were built throughout the city to accommodate the growing and increasingly affluent population of the city. Foreign investment transformed Beijing into one of the most cosmopolitan and prosperous cities in the world. In September 1995, the city hosted the United Nation's [[Fourth World Conference on Women]] and a parallel gathering of [[Non-governmental organization|non-government organizations]] in [[Huairou District]].
{{multiple image
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 | caption1 = On April 25, 1999, [[Falun Gong]] practitioners assembled outside the [[Zhongnanhai]] compound on to protest criticism of the sect in the state media.
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 | caption2 = On May 8, 1999, students and residents marched in protest of [[U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade|NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia]] outside the [[Embassy of the United States, Beijing|U.S. Embassy in Beijing]].}}

Also in 1995, Beijing's city government was shaken by a leadership scandal as [[Chen Xitong]], party secretary and a member of the [[Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party|politburo]], was removed from office and deputy-mayor Wang Baosen committed suicide.<ref name="NYTChenXitong1">[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/08/world/beijing-party-decapitated-by-president.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Patrick Tyler, "Beijing Party 'Decapitated' By President" ''N.Y. Times''] 1995-05-08</ref><ref name="NYTChenXitong2">[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/31/world/ex-party-chief-in-beijing-gets-16-years-in-prison.html Seth Faison, "Ex-Party Chief in Beijing Gets 16 Years in Prison" ''N.Y. Times''] 1998-07-31</ref> Chen was convicted and sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in 1998 of corruption and negligence of official duty and became the highest ranking Chinese official to be convicted of a crime since the trial of the Gang of Four.<ref name="NYTChenXitong2"/> Chen reportedly lost a power struggle against [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party|Party General Secretary]] [[Jiang Zemin]] and the "[[Shanghai Clique]]".<ref name="NYTChenXitong1"/> He maintained that the charges against him were politically motivated.<ref name="ReutersChenXitong">[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-politics-idUSBRE84R02K20120528 "Another ousted China party chief challenges case against him" Reuters] 2012-05-28</ref>

In March 1997, two bombs detonated on [[Beijing Bus|Beijing buses]].<ref name=Gladney/> The first bomb hit a Route 22 Bus in [[Xidan]] on the night of March 7, killing three and injuring ten.<ref name=Gladney/><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/09/world/bus-bombing-fails-to-daunt-shopping-day-in-beijing.html Seth Faison, "Bus Bombing Fails to Daunt Shopping Day In Beijing" ''N.Y. Times''] 2007-03-09</ref> The second, one day later, claimed two more lives.<ref name=Gladney/> The bombings, which followed the [[Ghulja Incident|outbreak of protests]] and [[1997 Ürümqi bus bombings|bombings in Xinjiang]], took place during the annual sessions of the [[Lianghui|legislature and political consultative conference]] in the capital, and were widely blamed on [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] [[East Turkestan independence movement|separatists]].<ref name=Gladney>[https://books.google.com/books?id=GXj4a3gss8wC&pg=PA380 ''Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland''], S. Frederik Starr ed.,  {{ISBN|9780765631923}} M.E. Sharpe 2004, 380</ref> In 1999, the [[Xinjiangcun|Xinjiang Village]] at [[Ganjiakou]], was demolished a mere seven years after the Haidian government had recognized it.<ref name=YSM/> Though Uyghur shopowners were compensated for their losses, their [[Uyghur people in Beijing|community in the capital]] scattered.<ref name=YSM>(Chinese) [http://hx.cnd.org/2014/04/12/%E6%9D%A8%E5%9C%A3%E6%95%8F%EF%BC%9A%E5%85%83%E6%9C%9D%E4%BB%A5%E6%9D%A5%E7%9A%84%E5%8C%97%E4%BA%AC%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E6%9D%91/ 杨圣敏：元朝以来的北京"新疆村" 《西北民族研究》 CND.org] 2014-04-12</ref>

In the spring of 1999, two large public demonstrations took place in Beijing. On April 25, over 10,000 [[Falun Gong]] practitioners assembled outside [[Zhongnanhai]] to protest criticism of the sect in the state media. The gathering resulted in the government's [[Persecution of Falun Gong|prohibition of Falun Gong in China]]. [[File:50th anniversary of PRC 4.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Armored column in the parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the PRC on Oct. 1, 1999.]] On May 8, following [[U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade|NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia]], which killed three Chinese nationals, thousands of students and residents marched on the [[Embassy of the United States, Beijing|U.S. Embassy in Beijing]] to protest U.S. military aggression. Some of the protesters pelted the embassy compound with stones and smashed cars, keeping the U.S. ambassador and staff confined in the compound for several days. Then vice-president [[Hu Jintao]] declared the government's support for the demonstrations, which reflected the anger and patriotism of the Chinese people, but urged against extreme and illegal conduct.<ref>[http://articles.cnn.com/1999-05-09/world/9905_09_china.protest.03_1_federal-directorate-nato-bombing-supply-and-procurement?_s=PM:WORLD "Chinese in Belgrade, Beijing protest NATO embassy bombing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009063910/http://articles.cnn.com/1999-05-09/world/9905_09_china.protest.03_1_federal-directorate-nato-bombing-supply-and-procurement?_s=PM:WORLD |date=2012-10-09 }} May 9, 1999</ref> The crisis was diffused after [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Bill Clinton]] issued an apology for the airstrike, which the Pentagon blamed on outdated maps, and agreed to pay $32.5 million to the victims of the bombing and to compensate for the damage to the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.<ref name="Dumbaugh">{{cite web|url=http://congressionalresearch.com/RS20547/document.php|title=Chinese Embassy Bombing in Belgrade:Compensation Issues|access-date=April 8, 2010 |last= Dumbaugh|first= Kerry|date=April 12, 2000|publisher=Congressional Research Service publication}}</ref> The Chinese government agreed to pay $2.87 million to compensate the U.S. for damage to its embassy and consulates in China.<ref name="Dumbaugh"/>

On October 1, 1999, the city celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic with a parade, the first since 1984.

===2000s===
In 2000, the city's total population reached 13.56 million, including 2.49 million temporary migrants.<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> The city's population has continued to grow, largely through inbound migration, reaching 15.38 million in 2005 (including 3.57 million temporary migrants)<ref name="ModernPopulation"/> and exceeding 20 million in 2011. Of the 20.18 million total population in 2011, 12.77 million were long-term residents with temporary migrants making up 7.4 million (36.7%).<ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-08/20/content_15690763.htm "Beijing's temporary population fell in 2011" ''Beijing Daily''] 2012-08-20</ref>
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| caption1 = From 2001 to 2008, a clock on the east side of Tiananmen Square, counted down to the opening of the [[Games of the XXIX Olympiad|XXIX Olympiad]]. The ''[[Dancing Beijing]]'' features Beijing's "jing (京)" character styled to resemble a man running. Nearly all [[Venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics|Olympic venues]] are located in the northern half of the city.
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On July 13, 2001, at the 112th meeting of the [[International Olympic Committee]] in Moscow, Beijing [[Bids for the 2008 Summer Olympics|was awarded the right to host]] the [[2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Summer Olympic]] and [[2008 Summer Paralympics|Paralympics Games]]. Under the motto "New Beijing, Great Olympics", the city pledged that holding the Games in China for the first time would promote not only the city's economy but also education, health and human rights of its residents. Beijing prevailed over [[Paris]], [[Toronto]], [[Istanbul]] and [[Osaka]] with an absolute majority of votes in the second round of balloting.

Over the next seven years, the city spent nearly [[RMB|¥]]300 billion (about US$36 billion in 2005 exchange rate) in preparation.<ref name="OlympicSpending">{{cite web |url=http://www.caijing.com.cn/2008-08-04/110002277.html |author=Wang Changyong ({{lang|zh-hans|王长勇}}) |script-title=zh:北京奥运总投入远超3000亿元人民币 |publisher=Caijing.com.cn |date=4 August 2008 |access-date=2013-06-27 |archive-date=2013-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002046/http://www.caijing.com.cn/2008-08-04/110002277.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The city built 12 permanent athletic venues and 8 temporary venues, expanded 11 existing venues, and renovated 45 practice facilities.<ref name="OlympicSpending"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Election|archive-date = 17 July 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080717013950/http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/election_uk.asp |url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/beijing/election_uk.asp |publisher= IOC|access-date=}}</ref> The bulk of the new venues was concentrated in the [[Olympic Green]] directly north of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. [[Venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics|Venues]] accounted for less than 5% of overall Olympic spending, the lion's share of which went to building infrastructure, including {{convert |578|km|abbr=on}} of express highways, [[Beijing Subway#2001–2008: planning for the Olympics|six subway lines]], Terminal 3 of the [[Beijing Capital International Airport|Capital Airport]] and the [[Beijing South railway station]], and a [[Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway|high-speed high-speed railway to Tianjin]].<ref name="OlympicSpending"/> To improve environmental quality, the city added nine sewage treatment plants, dredged {{convert|290|km|abbr=on}} of waterways and built waste incineration and wind power generation facilities.<ref name="OlympicSpending"/> From 2001 to 2007, the city's economy doubled in size and per capita income rose from $3,262 to $7,654.<ref name="OlympicSpending"/>
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|footer = From left: (1) The [[Olympic Green]] in 2006 with the [[Beijing National Stadium|National Stadium]] ("Bird's Nest") and [[Beijing National Aquatics Center|Aquatics Center]] ("Water Cube") under construction, (2) [[Beijing South railway station]], a high-speed rail hub, opened on Aug. 1, 2008, (3) Terminal 3 of [[Beijing Capital International Airport|Capital Airport]], was the world's largest when it opened on Feb. 29, 2008, (4) The [[Airport Express, Beijing Subway|airport line]] of the [[Beijing Subway]] opened on July 19, 2008.}}

In March 2003, the [[Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)]] spread to Beijing from southern China. Initial underreporting of the epidemic by government authorities was exposed by Dr. [[Jiang Yanyong]] in early April and forced [[Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China|Health Minister]] [[Zhang Wenkang]] and mayor [[Meng Xuenong]] to resign in April. The city became the hardest hit in the [[2002–2004 SARS outbreak|SARS epidemic]] with 2,521 probable cases (including at least 394 infected medical personnel) and 191 deaths.<ref name="WHO"/> Public schools, theaters, discos, and entertainment centers were closed at the order of the government in late April when 100 new cases were reported daily.<ref name="WHO"/> A large quarantine base was set up in Changping District north of the city. After the last new case was reported on May 29, the epidemic subsided and the [[World Health Organization]] lifted the travel advisory for Beijing on June 24.<ref name="WHO">(Chinese) [https://web.archive.org/web/20030627222215/http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_06_24/en/ Update 87 - World Health Organization changes last remaining travel recommendation -- for Beijing, China] 2003-06-24</ref>

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| caption1 = Smog diminishes visibility in Beijing. From atop [[Jingshan Park|Jingshan]], the [[Forbidden City]] and buildings on Tiananmen Square are obscured.
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[[File:History of Beijing Subway en.gif|thumb|400px|right|To decrease congestion and pollution, the city accelerated the expansion of the [[Beijing Subway|subway network]]. Schema showing the development of the Beijing Subway from 1971 to 2013]]
Rapid modernization and population growth also created numerous problems such as heavy traffic, pollution, the destruction of historic neighborhoods, and a large population of impoverished migrant workers from the countryside. By early 2005, the city government attempted to control [[urban sprawl]] by restricting development to two semicircular bands to the west and east of the city center, instead of the concentric rings of suburbs that had been built in the past.<ref>[[#Li, Dray-Novey & Kong|Li, Dray-Novey & Kong 2007]]: 255–256</ref>

The rapid growth of population, motor vehicles and factories has created high pollution levels. Days with gray, acrid skies, with an eye-reddening pollution score over 400, are common, as health officials advise wearing masks and staying indoors. Heavy trucks are allowed in only at night but their diesel fuels create much of the problem. By 2008 for the city's 12 million residents, pollution was not only a hazard, but a political issue tied in with the Summer Olympics scheduled for August 2008. The city's bid for the 2000 Olympics in 1993 failed partly because of high pollution levels; in response the city began a massive cleanup campaign. That campaign has been successful in terms of 2000 standards, but the city's economy is 2.5 times larger now, with millions more people. Over 3 million cars and trucks clog the streets, and 400,000 more are added annually as the wealth shoots up rapidly. Factories and power plants were changed to burn cleaner, low-sulfur coal; [[sulfur dioxide]] emissions fell by 25% 2001–2007, even though much more coal is burned, reaching 30 million tons in 2006. Furthermore, Beijing saw more than 160 million square meters (1.7 billion square feet) of new construction begun 2002–2007 due to pollution. Athletes may have some breathing problems, but in the long-run air quality is expected to remain a critical issue as the city grows beyond 20 million inhabitants.<ref>Jim Yardley, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/world/asia/29china.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin "Choking on Growth: Beijing's Olympic Quest: Turn Smoggy Sky Blue"], ''New York Times'', 29 Dec 2007</ref> The city also imposed [[Road space rationing in Beijing|road space rationing]], which remained in force after the Olympics.

The [[Chronological summary of the 2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Summer Olympics]] opened on August 8, 2008, at 8:08&nbsp;p.m. with a [[2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|grand ceremony]] at the [[Beijing National Stadium]] ("Bird's Nest"). Along with 10,942 athletes from 204 countries and regions who competed in 28 sports and 302 events, leaders from 80 countries also gathered in Beijing, for the largest international event in the city's history.<ref>[http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=e3606897-458e-4367-a358-224c3a4010b5 "Olympics: More than 80 world leaders to attend Beijing opening ceremony"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318175829/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=e3606897-458e-4367-a358-224c3a4010b5 |date=2016-03-18 }} 2008-08-08</ref> [[China at the 2008 Summer Olympics|China]], became the 22nd country to host the Olympics, and won the most gold medals for the first time. A record 86 countries medaled, with the [[United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics|United States]] topping the overall medal count. Some 1.7 million city residents volunteered during the games, setting an Olympic record.<ref>(Chinese) [http://news.21cn.com/domestic/yaowen/2008/08/02/5017197.shtml "170万奥运志愿者各就各位 人数创奥运之最" 新京报] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001250/http://news.21cn.com/domestic/yaowen/2008/08/02/5017197.shtml |date=2013-12-31 }} 2008-08-02</ref> In keeping with its promise to IOC authorities that the right of public assembly would be respected during the Games, Beijing authorities [[Concerns and controversies over the 2008 Summer Olympics#Human rights and censorship#Protest permits and zones|designated three city parks as areas for demonstrations]], but no permits for public demonstration were issued—the applications were either withdrawn or denied—and none took place.
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|footer = From left: (1) [[Yao Ming]] carries the [[2008 Summer Olympics torch relay|Olympic torch]] at Tiananmen, (2) Olympic flame lit at the [[Beijing National Stadium|Bird's Nest]], (3) [[Usain Bolt]] sets world record in 100 m dash, (4) The Water Cube at night, and (5) [[Beach volleyball]] [[gold medalist]] [[Kerri Walsh]] thanks Beijing volunteers.}}

On October 1, 2009, to commemorate the [[60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China]], a military parade was held on Chang'an Avenue and a gala concert in Tiananmen Square.

===2010s===
In the five years after the Olympics, Beijing's economy continued to grow rapidly, and the [[Chinese economic stimulus program|government's massive economic stimulus program]] in response to the [[Great Recession|global recession]] added enormous wealth to the city.<ref name="JLL">[http://www.ap.jll.com/asia-pacific/en-gb/Documents/Five_years_after_the_Olympics_EN.pdf "Jones Lang LaSalle Research Report -- Five years after the Olympics -- Growth in Beijing has continued, what to expect next?"] August 2013</ref> By the end of 2012, the city's economy was 1.8 times bigger than in 2008 and triple the size of 2004.<ref name="JLL"/> Due to the concentration of [[List of State-owned enterprises in China|state owned enterprises]] in the national capital, Beijing in 2013 had more [[Fortune Global 500]] Company headquarters than any other city in the world.<ref name="JLL"/> It also ranked No. 4 in the number of billionaire residents after Moscow, New York and Hong Kong.<ref name="JLL"/>

The rapid economic growth and [[expansionary monetary policy]], which caused [[Chinese property bubble (2005–11)|property prices to rise throughout China]], made Beijing one of the most expensive cities in the country. By 2010, new apartments inside the Third Ring Road cost Y30,000 per m<sup>2</sup> (US$360 per sq. ft.),<ref group=Note name=CurrencyConversion/> about ten times the average monthly wages.<ref name="China.org home prices">[http://www.china.org.cn/business/2011-02/17/content_21937249.htm "Beijing tightens restrictions on home purchase" Xinhua] 2011-02-17</ref> In response, the city government pledged to build low-income housing and imposed stringent limitations on home ownership.<ref name="China.org home prices"/> In February 2011, Beijing couples who already owned two or more homes and single residents with at least one home were barred from buying additional properties in the city.<ref name="China.org home prices"/> Individuals without resident permits, who can own only one property in the city, must pay local income tax for five consecutive years before they are eligible to buy it.<ref name="China.org home prices"/> In March 2013, the state imposed capital gains taxes on real estate transactions and raised down payment requirements for mortgages, but prices continued to climb.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130403080814/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/30/c_132273561.htm "Beijing, Shanghai announce detailed property curbs" Xinhua] 2013-03-30</ref> By August 2013, the average price of apartments inside the Fourth Ring Road reached Y42,259 per m<sup>2</sup> (US$634 per sq. ft.),<ref group=Note name=CurrencyConversion/> nearly twice as high as in 2009, leading to concerns of a property bubble.<ref>(Chinese) [http://finance.sina.com.cn/money/dzxf/20130905/092716672142.shtml 张晓玲&陈祥华 "北京房价四年翻一倍 四环房价直逼香港" 21世纪经济报道] 2013-09-05</ref>
{{multiple image
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 | footer = Left: World leaders gathered for the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on November 11, 2014. Right: From the rostrum atop Tiananmen Gate, Chinese [[paramount leader]] [[Xi Jinping]] presided over the [[2015 China Victory Day Parade|parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II]], with guests of honor [[President of Russia|Russian President]] [[Vladimir Putin]] and [[President of South Korea|South Korean President]] [[Park Geun-hye]]
 | image1 = Presidenta Michelle Bachelet, participó en la Fotografía Oficial de los Líderes APEC (15580480020).jpg
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}}
The [[APEC China 2014|22nd annual meeting of leaders]] from countries in the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] forum was held in Beijing on November 10–12, 2014. An international convention center was built by Yanqi Lake in Huairou District for the occasion.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141123203658/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2014-11/08/c_133775135.htm Scenery of APEC venue Yanqi Lake in Huairou District English.news.cn] 2014-11-08</ref>
On September 3, 2015, [[2015 China Victory Day Parade|a massive military parade was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary]] of the [[Victory over Japan Day|victory in World War II]] with leaders from over two dozen countries attending and honor guards from 17 countries joining the People's Liberation Army in the procession.
On 18 November 2017, a fire killed nineteen people in Beijing in a southern industrial neighborhood. The municipal government launched a forty-day campaign to demolish "illegal structures", which housed millions of workers from foreign countries, who the government deems as Beijing's "low-end population".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/1138278/beijing-is-evicting-its-migrants-and-displacing-its-e-commerce-couriers-who-work-for-companies-like-alibaba-and-jd/ |title=Beijing is evicting its migrants and displacing its e-commerce couriers |website=Quartz|date=27 November 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/27/china-ruthless-campaign-evict-beijings-migrant-workers-condemned|title=China: 'ruthless' campaign to evict Beijing's migrant workers condemned|website=The Guardian |date=2017-11-27}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|History}}
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*[[Jicheng (Beijing)|City of Ji]]
*[[Youzhou]]
*[[Khanbaliq|Khanbaliq (Dadu)]]
*[[Beiping]]
*[[Peking (disambiguation)|Peking]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}
{{Reflist|group=Note|refs=
<ref group=Note name=HistoricalCensus>Until the late Qing dynasty, the imperial census of the various dynasties counted only the number of taxable households in each administrative jurisdiction. To arrive at actual population figures, historical demographers have had to estimate the household size of each district in each era and add in the number of untaxed individuals, including imperial staff, religious personages and military personnel. Han Guanghui's 1996 compilation of historical census figures for Beijing provides two estimates for the city's population during each period: (1) the population within the walled city and (2) the population of the surrounding region that correspond, approximately, to the extent of modern [[List of administrative divisions of Beijing|Beijing Municipality]].</ref>

<ref group=Note name=CityStreets>Tong Linge Lu and Zhao Dengyu Lu in [[Xicheng District]] and Zhang Zizhong Lu in [[Dongcheng District, Beijing|Dongcheng District]], are the only streets named after modern personages in the city of Beijing. The three streets were named in 1946 after Nationalist generals who died defending the city and country in World War II. After taking the city in 1949, the Chinese Communists, who issued a policy against naming streets after personages to prevent the rise of the cult of personality, retained the street names. No other streets have since been named after people. Several ''[[hutongs]]'' in the city are named after personages from the city's more distant past. Wenchengxiang Hutong near the shrine of [[Wen Tianxiang]] is named after the Song dynasty prime minister. Guangningbo Jie is named after the Duke of Guangning, Liu Jiang (renamed by the [[Yongle Emperor]] to Liu Rong), who defeated Japanese pirates in the 15th century. Liusulan Hutong is named after Liu Lan, a famous Yuan dynasty sculptor.</ref>

<ref group=Note name=CurrencyConversion>US dollar equivalents based USD:CNY conversion rate of Y6.7695 = US$1.00 in 2010 and Y6.1957 = $1.00 in 2013.</ref>
}}

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{{Reflist|22em}}

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===Primary sources===
#{{cite book|last1=Gamble|first1=Sidney David|last2=Burgess|first2=John Stewart|title=Peking: A Social Survey Conducted Under the Auspices of the Princeton University Center in China and the Peking Young Men's Christian Association|url=https://archive.org/details/pekingasocialsu02burggoog|access-date=2014-05-17|year=1921|publisher=Google E-Book|isbn=9626758031|pages=[https://archive.org/details/pekingasocialsu02burggoog/page/n548 514]|ref=Gamble & Burgess 1921}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Peking and the Pekingese during the first year of the British embassy at Peking, Volume 1|first=David Field|last=Rennie|year=1865|publisher=J. Murray|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhtLAAAAMAAJ|access-date=24 April 2014}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_china.html Online historical maps] from Perry–Castañeda Library

{{Beijing}}
{{China political divisions histories}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:History of Beijing| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]