Following the Tang Dynasty came a period of almost continual warfare known as the Five Dynasties and Ten States. In 960, Zhao Kuangyin, a general of the State of Later Zhou, established the Song Dynasty (960-1279), known in history as the Northern Song Dynasty. When the Song Dynasty moved its capital to the south, it became known in history as the Southern Song Dynasty. China in the Song Dynasty was in the forefront of the world in astronomy, science and technology. Bi Sheng invented movable type printing in the 1040s, ushering in a major revolution in the history of printing.

In 1206, Genghis Khan established the Mongolian Khanate. In 1271, Kublai, a grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Central Plains, founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and made Dadu (today's Beijing) the capital. Kublai ended the centuries-long situation in which many independent regimes existed side by side by forming a united country that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan under its sway. During the Song-Yuan period, the "four great inventions" in science and technology of the Chinese people in ancient times — papermaking, printing, the compass and gunpowder — were further developed, and spread abroad.

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Nanjing, reigning as Emperor Taizu. When his son and successor Zhu Di (1360-1424) ascended the throne, he built and expanded the palaces, temples, city walls and moats in Beijing. In 1421, he officially moved the capital to Beijing. During his reign, he dispatched a eunuch named Zheng He to lead a fleet of many ships to make seven far-ranging voyages. Passing the Southeast Asian countries, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Maldives Islands, Zheng He explored as far as Somalia and Kenya on the eastern coast of Africa. These were the largest-scale and longest voyages in the world before the age of Columbus.

The Manchus of northeast China established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1644. The best known of the Qing Dynasty emperors, Kangxi (r. 1661-1722) restored the central empire's rule over Taiwan, and resisted invasions by tsarist Russia. To reinforce the administration of Tibet, he also formulated the rules and regulations on the confirmation of the Tibetan local leaders by the Central Government. He effectively administered over 11 million sq km of Chinese territory.

 The Dynasties

Dynasty	Date
Xia	2070-1600 B.C.
Shang	1600-1046 B.C.
Western Zhou	1046-771 B.C.
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period	770-476  B.C.
Warring States Period	475-221 B.C.
Qin	221-206 B.C.
Western Han	206 B.C.-A.D. 24
Eastern Han	25-220
Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu and Wu)	220-265
Western Jin	265-316
Eastern Jin	317-420
Southern and Northern Dynasties	420-589
Sui	581-618
Tang	618-907
Five Dynasties	907-960
Northern Song	960-1127
Southern Song	1127-1279
Yuan	1271-1368
Ming	1368-1644
Qing	1644-1911