Beijing (běi jīng 北京) is a world renowned city of history and culture. The Liao Dynasty (liáo dài 辽代) made Beijing its alternate capital since 938AD. Later, Beijing become the capital city of Jin Dyansty (jīn dài 金代), called Zhongdu (zhōng dū 中都), capital of the Yuan Dyansty (yuán cháo 元朝), known as Dadu (dà dū 大都), and capital of the Ming (míng cháo 明朝) and Qing Dyansty (qīng cháo 清朝). During early Republican period in 1910s it became the capital of Republic of China. In 1928, the capital was moved to Nanjing (nán jīng 南京) and Beijing renamed Beiping (běi píng 北平), a name that held until 1949. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Beijing was once again renamed Beijing, and designated the country’s capital.

                          
Xi’an (xī ‘ān 西安) is located in the middle of the 800-li Qinchuan (bā bǎi lǐ qín chuān 八百里秦川). It is bordered on the south by the Qingling Mountain Range (qín lǐng 秦岭), and on the north by the Weihe River (wèi hé 渭河), with a terrain sloping from the southeast to the northwest. There are many rivers in the city. Since ancient times, it is celebrated for“eight rivers flowing around Chang’an (cháng ān 长安, the old name for Xi’an in ancient times)".

            
Nanjing (nán jīng 南京) has a long history. The Six dynasties of the Wu (wú 吴), the Eastern Jin (dōng jìn 东晋), the Song (sòng cháo 宋朝), the Qi (qí 齐), the Liang (liáng 梁) and the Chen (chén 陈), chose Nanjing as their capital. Later on, the Southern Tang Dynasty (nán táng 南唐), the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (tài píng tiān guó 太平天国, 1852-1864AD) and the Republic of China also made Nanjing their capital. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Nanjing became the capital of Jiangsu Province and the largest comprehensive industrial city of this province.