Which Asian capital used to be called Peking?

The Asian capital formerly called Peking is Beijing.

Beijing is China’s capital and one of the country’s four municipalities administered directly by the central government. The modern English spelling follows pinyin, the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin. In that system, 北京 is written Beijing and pronounced roughly “bay-jing,” with tones that English usually does not represent.

Peking is an older romanization of the same Chinese name, not a different city. The name Beijing means “Northern Capital,” distinguishing it from Nanjing, or “Southern Capital.” The name was applied in 1403 during the Ming dynasty, although the city has had many names across its long history.

The older spelling still survives in well-known names. Peking University retains it, and Beijing Capital International Airport uses the code PEK. Another possible confusion is Peiping, a different historical name used during periods when Beijing was not serving as China’s capital.