BeipingPeiping

Beiping and Peiping refer to the historical name 北平 (Beiping/Peiping) for the city now known as Beijing. The name literally means "Northern Peace" and contrasts with 北京 (Beijing), meaning "Northern Capital." The different spellings arise from separate romanization systems—Beiping is the pinyin form, while Peiping is the Wade-Giles variant.

Historically, Beiping was used during periods when the Chinese capital was not seated in the northern city. For much of the Ming dynasty, the capital was at Nanjing, and the northern area that would become Beijing was referred to as Beiping. In 1421, the capital was moved to the city and it became Beijing (Northern Capital). The Beiping name persisted in various documents and local usage, and during the Republic of China era (roughly 1912–1949) the city was commonly called Beiping or Peiping while the national capital resided elsewhere.

In modern terms, the metropolis is Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China since 1949. The historical Western spelling for Beijing is Peking, while Peiping and Beiping reflect Chinese names under different romanizations. The distinction between Beiping/Peiping and Beijing is thus largely one of historical period and transliteration rather than a separate city. See also Beijing.