Kaifeng, Capital of Northern Song

Timeline

1. 960Bianliang (present-day Kaifeng) · Central PlainsAfter Zhao Kuangyin founded Song in the Chenqiao mutiny, he made Bianzhou, capital of Later Zhou of the Five Dynasties, the imperial seat, renaming it Dongjing Kaifeng Prefecture and establishing it as the Northern Song imperial capital, making Bianjing the dynasty's political center.
2. c. 1010–1060City walls of Dongjing Kaifeng Prefecture and the Bian River grain canal · Central PlainsIn the early Northern Song the outer city was gradually expanded, forming a nested layout of palace city, imperial city and outer city; the Bian River, Huimin River and other grain canals opened through, making Bianjing the core hub for distributing north-south goods and commercial trade.
3. 1061–1070Imperial city and market wards of Dongjing Kaifeng Prefecture · Central PlainsFrom Yingzong through the early years of Shenzong, Bianjing maintained a population on the order of a million; imperial city offices, temples and gardens coexisted with markets along the imperial avenue, wine shops and entertainment quarters thronged with merchants, and the capital's economic and cultural life remained flourishing.
4. c. 1071–1127Bianjing (Dongjing Kaifeng Prefecture) · Central PlainsAfter Shenzong, Bianjing's urban civilization reached its zenith; the ward-market system and festival customs recorded in Dongjing Menghua Lu derive from memories of this period; in 1127 Jin forces captured the city, the two emperors were taken north, Northern Song fell, and Bianjing's era as imperial capital ended.