In politics, a capital is the principal city or town associated with a country's government. The word capital is derived from the Latin "caput", meaning "head".

Beijing, the capital city of China, is the country's second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognised as the political, educational, and cultural centre of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.

Numerous cities have been the capital of China during the course of history. Traditionally, Beijing is one of the four great ancient capitals of China. Others include Nanjing, Luoyang, and Xi'an. After the 1920's, as more discoveries were made, other historic capitals were added to the list. The concept of seven ancient capitals of China was introduced later on with Kaifeng, Hangzhou and Anyang added to the list. Not too long ago in 2004, the China Ancient Capital Society officially added Zhengzhou as an eighth, thanks to archaeological finds there.