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Shangdu

Also known as Xanadu, Kaiping

Shangdu, known in the West as Xanadu, was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty, in present-day Inner Mongolia, China. Kublai Khan had it built from 1256 and held court there in summer, and Marco Polo described its palace and park. Red Turban rebels burned it in 1358, and the last Yuan emperor fled there in 1368. Its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Shangdu
Image: Flaumfeder · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Yuan DynastyFoundation, Summary

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Han SongNorthern Yuan

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Shangdu. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shangdu
MLA
“Shangdu.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shangdu. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Shangdu.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shangdu.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Shangdu’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shangdu (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻