Beijing was first recorded as the city of 'Ji' or 'Jicheng' in Chinese. Later in the 11th century BC, the Kingdom of Yan established its capital at the city of Ji, and named it 'Yanjing'. The city of 'Ji' served as the capital of Yan for eight to nine hundred years and it was an important metropolis in north China. In 221 BC, during the Qin Dynasty (221BC - 206BC), Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, defeated the six other kingdoms and established a unified centralized state with its capital in Xianyang (in present Shaanxi Province).

The state of Yan ceased to exist and the city of 'Ji' became a common prefectural town, which was still regarded as a major trading center and a place of strategic importance. But the city of 'Ji' was in no position to be compared with the capital cities of Xianyang, Chang'an of the Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties. So the city of 'Ji' just remained as another northern town. In the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618), it was named 'Zhuojun'. During the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), it was renamed 'Youzhou' with its capital in Chang'an ( Xi'an today). As time continued, the city was respectively named Peidu, Zhongdu, Dadu, Beiping and finally Beijing.