In Duolun It was the site of Shangdu (the Xanadu of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetic fragment “Kubla Khan”) under the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368), 15 miles (25 km) northwest of the present-day town. It was founded by the Mongolian leader Kublai Khan in 1256 and became the summer capital of the Mongol emperors… Read More
model for Coleridge’s Xanadu
In Kublai Khan: Rise to power …arrived at his residence of Shangdu (the Xanadu of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem), in southeastern Mongolia. There his associates held a kuriltai, or “great assembly,” and on May 5 Kublai was unanimously elected khan, thus succeeding Möngke. Read More
role in Mongol empire
In China: Changes under Kublai Khan and his successors …from Karakorum in Mongolia to Shangdu (“Upper Capital”), near present-day Dolun in Inner Mongolia. In 1267 the official capital was transferred to Zhongdu, where Kublai ordered the construction of a new walled city, replete with grand palaces and official quarters, that was renamed Dadu (“Great Capital”) before its completion. Under… Read More
visit by Polo
In Marco Polo: Travels of the Polo family …the grand khan’s summer residence, Shangdu (immortalized as Xanadu by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge). Establishing friendly relations with the great Kublai Khan, they eventually returned to Europe as his ambassadors, carrying letters asking the pope to send Kublai 100 intelligent men “acquainted with the Seven Arts”; they also bore… Read More
