The Ancient Capital Cities
Among the eight major ancient capitals in China – Xi'an, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang and Zhengzhou, the last four are all located in Henan Province.
Luoyang served as the capital of 13 dynasties and kingdoms for more than 1,000 years in total, the longest among all capital cities. The 13 dynasties are: Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms Period, Western Jin, Northern Wei, Sui, Tang (including the Wuzhou era), Later Liang, Later Tang, and Later Jin.
Kaifeng served as the capital of eight ruling courts – Xia, State of Wei during the Warring States Period, Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou, Northern Song, and Jin. It nurtured the influential culture of the Song Dynasty, a transitioning period from the Han and the Tang to the Ming and the Qing dynasties. Throughout history, Kaifeng has had the same axis without any change, and the discovery of several capital cities underneath it, one on top of another, is a rarity in world archaeological history and the history of capitals.
Anyang first became a capital city more than 3,300 years ago and continued to serve as such for seven kingdoms or dynasties, including the Shang. It is the first capital city in Chinese history that is referenced in historical literature and corroborated by oracle-bone inscriptions. The oracle-bone inscriptions and the Houmuwu square cauldron were found here, and the book Zhou Yi was also created here.
Zhengzhou first became a capital city more than 3,000 years ago and served as such for the dynasties of Xia and Shang, State of Guan during the Western Zhou Dynasty, State of Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period, and State of Han during the Warring States Period. The Shang Dynasty City Ruins in downtown Zhengzhou is the earliest and largest capital city discovered in China so far and the first capital protected by surrounding city walls.
華夏古都
中國(guó)八大古代都城包括西安、洛陽(yáng)、南京、北京、開(kāi)封、杭州、安陽(yáng)和鄭州。其中，河南省占據(jù)四席，包括洛陽(yáng)、開(kāi)封、安陽(yáng)、鄭州。
洛陽(yáng)擁有千年建都史，夏、商、西周、東周、東漢、三國(guó)魏、西晉、北魏、隋、唐（含武周）、后梁、后唐、后晉等十三朝以洛為都，洛陽(yáng)成為中國(guó)建都時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的城市，擁有“十三朝古都”之稱。
開(kāi)封先后有夏朝、戰(zhàn)國(guó)魏國(guó)、后梁、后晉、后漢、后周、宋朝、金朝等在此定都，有“八朝古都”之稱，孕育了上承漢唐、下啟明清、影響深遠(yuǎn)的“宋文化”。開(kāi)封是世界上一座城市中軸線從未變動(dòng)的都城，城摞城遺址在世界考古史和都城史上少有。
安陽(yáng)是商朝的都城，甲骨文的故鄉(xiāng)，后母戊鼎的發(fā)現(xiàn)地，《周易》的發(fā)源地，也是中國(guó)歷史上第一個(gè)文獻(xiàn)可考并為甲骨文所證實(shí)的都城。安陽(yáng)有著3300多年的建城史，前后共有七個(gè)王朝在安陽(yáng)建都。
鄭州有3000多年建都史，夏、商、西周管國(guó)、春秋鄭國(guó)、戰(zhàn)國(guó)韓國(guó)建都于此。鄭州商城是迄今所知中國(guó)最早且規(guī)模最大的都城，也是中國(guó)歷史上第一個(gè)建有城垣的王都。
