History of Beijing

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the urban area of Beijing was commonly known as the “Four-Nine City” (四九城). The name refers to the traditional layout of the city, known as “Nine Inner, Seven Outer, Four Imperial”: the Inner City had nine gates, the Outer City had seven gates, and the Imperial City had four gates.

During the Tang Dynasty, the area of present-day Beijing was administered as part of Youzhou. During the Ming Dynasty, Beijing’s urban area was administered jointly by Daxing County and Wanping County.

In June 1928, following the advance of the Nationalist forces into Beijing, the Jingzhao administrative system was abolished and the city was renamed Beiping. It was initially established as Beiping Special Municipality under the Nationalist government in Nanjing and was later reorganized as Beiping Municipality under the Executive Yuan.

During the Japanese occupation, a Beijing municipal government was established. After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the former administrative system of Beiping was restored.

The area administered by Beiping Municipality was considerably smaller than the territories of the former Shuntian Prefecture, Jingzhao, or today’s Beijing Municipality. It roughly corresponded to present-day Dongcheng and Xicheng districts, most of Chaoyang District, the southern part of Haidian District, the northern part of Shijingshan District, and the southern part of Fengtai District.

Administrative Changes after 1949

On April 18, 1950, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China approved an adjustment that reorganized Beijing into 16 districts. The urban area was divided into inner and outer districts.

The Inner City consisted of Dongdan, Xidan, Dongsi, and Xisi districts, while the Outer City consisted of Xuanwu, Chongwen, and Qianmen districts.

In 1952, Wanping County of Hebei Province was transferred to Beijing. In 1956, Changping County was also incorporated into Beijing.

In March 1958, five counties and districts—Tong County, Shunyi, Daxing, Liangxiang, and Fangshan—were transferred to Beijing. Later that year, on October 20, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu, and Yanqing were also incorporated into the municipality.

Following a series of administrative adjustments in 1958, Beijing’s central urban districts were eventually reorganized into four major districts. As the city continued to expand and urbanization accelerated, the concept of “Eight Urban Districts” (Chengbaqu) emerged. These consisted of Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chongwen, Xuanwu, Chaoyang, Fengtai, Shijingshan, and Haidian.

From Six Urban Districts to Modern Beijing

Today, Dongcheng and Xicheng districts occupy the traditional central area of Beijing. Their territories are largely located within today’s Second Ring Road and correspond closely to the area of the old city during the Qing Dynasty. They therefore represent the traditional urban core of Beijing.

As Beijing’s population grew and the city expanded, much of the territory of the four former suburban districts—Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai, and Shijingshan—also became urbanized. Together with Dongcheng and Xicheng, these six districts gradually came to be known as the “Six Urban Districts” (Chengliuqū).

Meanwhile, most of Beijing’s former suburban counties were gradually reorganized as municipal districts.

Under current urban planning, the built-up urban area of Beijing is generally defined as the area within the Fifth Ring Road, covering approximately 667 square kilometers.