Chu (1030–223 BC) was one of seven states during the Warring States period of Zhou Dynasty in ancient China. Chu was located in present-day central and southern China during the Zhou Dynasty. Originally started in the delta of Hanjiang, Danshui and Zheshui, Chu, ruled by several nobile ranks incuding Zi, Nai, Yan Mi and Xiong, expanded into a large state. At the height of its power, Chu occupied vast areas in present day Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Zhejiang. For more than 400 years the Chu capital Danyang was located at the junction region of Dan River and Xi River, near present-day Xichuan, Henan Province, but later moved to Ying. The Kingdom of Chu was destroyed by the Kingdom of Qin in 223 BC leading to a unified China.