Site of Xanadu

Located north of the Great Wall, Xanadu was the capital of Kublai Khan’s Yuan dynasty. The site encompasses the remains of the legendary capital city, designed by the Mongol ruler’s Chinese advisor LIU Bingzhong in 1256.

Xanadu was an attempt to assimilate the nomadic Mongolian and Han Chinese cultures and was planned according to traditional Chinese fengshui in relation to the nearby mountains and river. The site features the remains of the city, including temples, palaces, tombs, nomadic encampments and the Tiefan’gang Canal, along with other waterways.

The site of Xanadu was added to the World Heritage List in 2012.