The Capital Cities of Yuan Dynasty
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E-mail China.org.cn, December 1, 2018
Exhibition "The Capital Cities of Yuan Dynasty" was displayed at the China Cultural Center in Mauritius from
September 9, 2016 - December 9, 2016.
Here is the introduction:
Venue: Room B, F1
Imperial Capital — the regal place where the son of heaven resided.
In ancient times, many world capitals had multiple functions in politics, economy, culture and military; this was true in China too. Throughout history of almost 5,000 years, Chinese located, planned and constructed their capital cities according to a complicated tradition based on practical and aesthetic rules. Chang’an (present Xi’an)and Luoyangbetween the Han (206 BCE – 220 CE) and Tang (618-907 CE) dynasties respectively, Bianjing (present Kaifeng)and Lin’an (present Hangzhou) during the Northern and Southern Song dynasties (960-1279 CE)were all prosperous, elegant and well-designed cities.
It was Kublai Khan (reigned 1260–1294 CE) who established the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 CE), who ascended throne and later became the Emperor of China. He and his descendants decreed the building plan of three capital cities, Shangdu (Xanadu), Dadu (Khanbaliq) and Zhongdu. The first two cities stood along the well-known Silk Road, thanks for this reason, both became widely famous in the world.
