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Xanadu, a mythical place mentioned in Coleridge’s poem, was believed to be fictional until ruins were discovered in Inner Mongolia. Little remains of the ancient city, but a replica of Kublai Khan’s palace has been reconstructed. Xanadu is now a tourist area with plans for further reconstruction.
Xanadu, also known as Zanadu or Shengdu, is a mythical place that has its roots in a real area of Inner Mongolia. Xanadu became popular as the legendary place mentioned in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem as the place where Kublai Khan built a giant dome to fulfill every fantasy of him. The location was believed to be mythical until the ruins were discovered 270 km (168 mi) north of Beijing and near the town of Dolonnuur in the late 20th century. Xanadu is believed to have been the capital of Kublai Khan’s empire which was founded in the 13th century.
Xanadu is now little more than a vast green field stretching for hundreds of miles. From above you can still see the outlines of the ancient buildings, but once on the ground, only the sketch of the outer wall that protected the city is visible, and only if you really look for it. The outline of the wall is covered in grass and earth for most of its length, and can easily be mistaken for a small hill. There is now a low stone wall marking the area where Kublai Khan’s palace used to be. The low wall is actually a reconstruction. Archaeologists used stones and bricks scattered around the area to piece together a replica of the palace’s foundations, which were destroyed over 600 years ago. The original building was about 550 square meters and occupied the center of the city.
Other than the wall, little is left of the magical place that historians believe Xanadu once was. The local museums keep an iron cauldron, drawings and photographs showing the remains of tombs and small marble sculptures. Historians also believe they have identified a primitive irrigation system that was used in the area and believe that a sacrificial altar was also in place at Xanadu.
Xanadu is now a tourist area, although the truth is that very few visitors reach the area every year. The government has plans to rebuild a replica of the original Xanadu, but it likely won’t remain in place of the original city.
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