The archaeoastronomy and feng shui of Xanadu: Kublai Khan’s imperial Mongolian capital

Ancient genomes reveal complex genetic history of an international metropolis at Kublai Khan's Upper Capital (Xanadu)

“…The Upper Capital of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), commonly known as Xanadu, is located on the grasslands of Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia, in present‐day China (Romain, 2017). Built by Kublai Khan (1215–1294) in the middle of the 13th century (1256), it was burned down twice, first in 1358 and then in 1363, before finally being abandoned in the reign of the last Yuan emperor, Emperor Shun (Togon Temür), in 1369 (Jia, 1977).…”

“…Many foreign envoys, missionaries, merchants, and visitors were received by the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty, with whom they established friendly relations (Xiao, 1998). Marco Polo (1254Polo ( -1324, an Italian explorer and merchant, who traveled to Xanadu and was received by Kublai Khan, described Xanadu in his travelogue as a marble palace full of gold (Romain, 2017). His book, The Travels of Marco Polo, describes the palaces, temples, courtly ways, and customs of Xanadu in detail, and it served to introduce Xanadu in Western Europe when it was first released (Xiao, 1998).…”

The Role of Astronomy and Feng Shui in the Planning of Ming Beijing

“…Inside the general, geometric structure of the plan of Ming Beijing discussed above, there is a curious, apparently mysterious fact: the side gates of the Forbidden City are notably displaced to the south with respect to the mid-line of the enclosure, and there appears to be no functional reason for this choice. There is, however, a term of comparison: in Shangdu, the southern gates of the sides of the central town are displaced as well, and their azimuths measured from the centre of the imperial palace correspond with impressive precision with those of the sun rising/setting at the winter solstice (with a flat horizon), a thing which can hardly be attributed to a chance (Romain 2017). In Beijing, a similar effect occurs.…”

Supplementary Material for “Solstice Alignments at Angkor Wat and Nearby Temples: Connecting to the Cycles of Time”

“…As discussed earlier, both solstice and equinox alignments are found in the design of Angkor Wat. Similarly, further afield, simultaneous solstice and cardinal direction alignments are found in the design of certain medieval Chinese monumental structures (Romain 2017). At Angkor, while solstice alignments seem intended to symbolically link structures to the solar cycle, additional and simultaneous equinox or cardinal direction alignments seem intended for observational purposes and/or to accommodate movements in and out of structures along cosmologically significant axes.…”