How Beijing Came to Be China's Capital

While Beijingers claim a history dating back to 1045 BC, it would be more accurate to say that the past 3,000 years have seen a number of cities rise and fall in the area around where we live today.  

Lars Ulrik Thom, of Beijing Postcards (bjpostcards.com), is a historian who gives talks on Beijing history including the popular lecture “Looking for the Master Plan,” which combines archival research done by Thom and his team with the work of local scholars such as Hou Renzhi.

According to Thom, “There are three passes going through the mountains connecting just about where Beijing is, and south of this is the Yongding River. These four roads are the main reason for Beijing’s location. Beijing was the perfect trade station for the nomads and other people north of the mountains and the people of the flat Huabei Plain.”

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This article first appeared in our November/December magazine. To read the entire issue online, please click here.

Photos courtesy of Jeremiah Jenne