What is "zhongdu"

Zhongdu is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese characters , meaning "Central Capital". It may refer to:

• Zhongdu, the capital of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty during the 12th century. It was located in present-day Beijing.
• Zhongdu, a proposed capital for the new Ming Dynasty to be located at the birthplace of the Hongwu Emperor in Anhui, then known as Linhao (formerly Zhongli and later Fengyang). The Ming Shilu records 140,000 workers involved in its construction (1369–1375) before it was abruptly abandoned as "construction had too greatly exhausted the strength of the people". The Ming remained at Nanjing (and nominally Kaifeng) until the Yongle Emperor removed the capital in stages to Beijing.

Zhongdu, written with other Chinese characters, is also used for other place names:

• Zhongdu, Luzhai County , a town in Luzhai County, Guangxi
• Zhongdu, Shanghang County, town in Fujian

Zhongdu (, lit. "Central Capital") was the capital of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in medieval China. It was located in the southwestern part of Beijing's Xicheng District. It had a population of nearly one million by the late 12th century, and was the last and largest pre-modern city built on that location.

The Daning Palace and Taiye Lake were located to the city's northeast.

After a move to Kaifeng was mooted by the Jurchens following a visit by Genghis Khan in 1214, he returned to the city the next year and destroyed it. His grandson Kublai Khan did not rebuild the site but instead built his capital of Khanbaligh to its northeast around the Daning Palace park.