Zhu Yuanzhang and Mingzhongdu

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was once a poor peasant, toppled the ethnic Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) in China and built up his own empire, the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He made Nanjing in today's east China's Jiangsu Province the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

In 1369, however, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the building of Zhongdu (literally, the central capital) in his hometown of Fengyang County, Chuzhou City, east China's Anhui Province, to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Hence it is historically called Mingzhongdu.

The construction of Mingzhongdu lasted six years and spanned more than 50 square kilometers. It included three main sections — the inner, middle, and outer cities. The inner palace is 120,000 square meters larger than the Forbidden City which has an area of 720,000 square meters in Beijing.

When Zhu Yuanzhang initiated the construction of Mingzhongdu, he mobilized skilled craftsmen, soldiers, and civilians from across the country, totaling no less than a million people, securing a significant place in the history of ancient Chinese capital cities.