Shangdu

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Shangdu

Mongolia

Also known as: K’ai-p’ing, Shang-tu

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July 13, 2026

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Shangdu, also known as Xanadu, was founded by Kublai Khan in 1256 and served as the summer capital of the Mongol emperors of China during the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368). Located in Inner Mongolia, approximately 15 miles (25 km) northwest of modern-day Duolun, the city was renowned for its grandeur, featuring a walled inner city for the emperor, surrounded by an outer city with official buildings and temples. It was famously sacked in the mid-14th century and later fell to Chinese Ming armies in 1368. Despite its destruction, Shangdu remained a significant symbolic site for the Mongols.1

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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…
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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…
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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.
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…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.
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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…
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…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…
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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…
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…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