Why Xanadu
Shangdu, widely known in Western culture as Xanadu, was once the summer capital of China's Yuan dynasty. Situated in the grasslands of present-day Zhenglan Banner in Inner Mongolia, the historic destination lies approximately 350 kilometers north of Beijing and 28 kilometers northwest of Duolun County. Recognized for its historic and cultural significance, the site received designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
The city was originally established between 1252 and 1256 under the name Kaiping by Liu Bingzhong, a former Buddhist monk and advisor to Kublai Khan. In 1264, Kublai Khan renamed the settlement Shangdu and designated it as his seasonal capital. The architectural master plan uniquely merged Chinese Confucian urban planning concepts with traditional Mongolian steppe customs, resulting in a triple-layered layout that comprised an outer city, an inner city, and a central imperial palace enclosure.
At its peak, the city supported a population of more than 100,000 people. The palace enclosure occupied a square measuring about 550 meters on each side, representing roughly 40 percent of the footprint of the later Forbidden City in Beijing. Beyond administrative quarters and temples, the urban area contained expansive gardens and dedicated hunting grounds. Descriptions from early historical accounts noted marble halls, gilded interiors, elaborate wood and lacquer work, and a portable palace constructed of canes decorated with lacquered dragons that could be disassembled for transport.
Serving as a political center alongside its role as a summer retreat, the site was where Kublai Khan hosted foreign diplomatic envoys and conducted court affairs. However, during the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1369, Ming forces sacked and largely destroyed the settlement. Following its abandonment, the site fell into ruin, and surviving architectural materials such as marble blocks and decorative tiles were eventually scavenged by nearby residents.
State-led conservation and research efforts began at the archaeological site in 2002. Beyond its historical footprint, Xanadu gained lasting international renown through the accounts of travelers like Marco Polo and Samuel Purchas, which later inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write his famous poem Kubla Khan. For travelers looking to reach Zhenglan Banner, infrastructure continues to evolve, with a railway line connecting the region to Beijing scheduled to open in 2026.
01 Weather
71°
54°
☔ 29% 
75°
51°
☔ 100%
67°
49°
72°
49°
75°
51°
55°
53°