Xanadu Ruins

Background

Xanadu, also known as Shangdu or Luanjing and first named Kaiping Prefecture, lies near Shangdu Town in Zhenglan Banner, on the north bank of the upper Luan River in the Jinlianchuan grassland, about 20 kilometres northeast of the banner seat according to sources. According to UNESCO, it was designed in 1256 by Liu Bingzhong, Kublai Khan's Chinese adviser, covers about 25,000 hectares and was laid out according to traditional Chinese feng shui in relation to the surrounding mountains and rivers; its remains include the city site, temples, palaces, tombs, nomadic encampment remains and water-management works such as the Tiefan'gan Canal. It was the base from which Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty, which ruled China for more than a century, and religious debates held here influenced the spread of Tibetan Buddhism into Northeast Asia. The city comprised a palace city, an imperial city and an outer city; it was listed among the third batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level in 1988 and inscribed on the World Heritage List on 29 June 2012 at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee. Damaged in fighting from 1358 and abandoned after 1369, the city survives above ground only as earthen walls and platforms, best understood with the help of exhibitions and signs. The English poet Coleridge portrayed Shangdu as a "pleasure-dome" in his poem "Kubla Khan", making Xanadu a Western byword for an ideal place; this is literary imagination, not the site as it was. Marco Polo's travels also describe Shangdu, though the details of his visit are still debated by scholars.

Local customs

• Follow the wooden boardwalks through the palace city, imperial city and outer city and past the water-management remains, and take in the siting and scale of a "steppe capital" on the Jinlianchuan grassland
• pair the visit with the museum or exhibitions to learn about the Yuan capital system and exchanges between East and West.

Travel tips

• The site is open with little shade, so in summer protect yourself from sun and wind and carry plenty of water
• the remains are mostly earthen platforms and are less striking than reconstructed buildings, so see the exhibitions first
• in wind, rain and winter, keep warm and watch the road conditions. Visitors usually travel first to the Zhenglan Banner seat and then go on by car
• according to sources, the site is about 350 kilometres from Beijing, and driving or hiring a car is common. For opening hours, shuttles and tickets, refer to official announcements.
• Summer brings the finest grassland scenery and is the easiest time to visit
• spring and autumn are windy with big temperature swings, and winter is bitterly cold and snowy, so plan around the weather.