ChinaEraTrace: History Atlas

ChinaEraTrace is an interactive historical atlas of China from 403 BCE to the present. Drag the timeline and watch the realms of eighteen dynasties grow, split and fade, then tap any city to read how its name and rulers changed across the centuries.

Explore
• Timeline of 18 dynasties with 173 territory maps, and ghost borders that show what changed from one stage to the next
• Administrative divisions of the era (Han zhou, Tang dao, Song lu, Ming and Qing provinces), plus a modern-province overlay to see where an old realm lies today
• Rivers, lakes, the Great Walls, canals and the Silk Road
• Ancient cities and mountain passes, each with the key events that happened there

Trace Place
Tap a city or long-press any spot to open its genealogy: the names it carried, the realm that held it, whether it was a capital, and the events recorded nearby, dynasty by dynasty.

Seven journeys
Follow Qin Shi Huang, Zhang Qian, Zhuge Liang, Xuanzang, Li Bai, Su Shi and Wang Yangming stop by stop. Each stop sets the year and moves the map for you, with a short story and a classical quotation.

Map Pinpoint quiz
Ten rounds: read a clue, tap where the ancient place stood, and score by distance. Earn a rank from Wandering Traveller upwards.

Search
Look up cities, rulers and reign names, eras and years, landmarks, passes, events and journeys from one box.

Names and stories are written in Chinese and English. Everything is built in, so the atlas, the journeys and the quiz work without a connection. Share a year and place with a link.

Historical boundaries are schematic approximations, not surveyed borders. Dates and places follow common historical references and some periods are disputed.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government, museum or university.