Khanbaliq

Khanbaliq (Dadu of Yuan)
Native name
汗八里
Wade-Giles: Han-pa-li
(元)大都
(Yüan) Ta-tu
TypeFormer capital city
LocationBeijing, China
Coordinates39°56′0″N 116°24′0″E / 39.93333°N 116.40000°E / 39.93333; 116.40000
Founded1264
FounderKublai Khan
Khanbaliq
Chinese name
Chinese汗八里
Mongolian name
Mongolian CyrillicХаан балгас, Ханбалиг
Mongolian scriptᠻᠠᠨᠪᠠᠯᠢᠺ
Dadu
Chinese name
Chinese()大都
Literal meaningGrand Capital (of Yuan)
Mongolian name
Mongolian scriptᠳᠠᠶᠢᠳᠤ
Beiping
Chinese北平
Literal meaning[Seat of the] Northern Pacified [Area]
While "Cambaluc" was known to European geographers, its exact location – or its identity with Beijing  – was not quite clear. This map from 1610 repeats a fairly common pattern for the period: it shows two Khanbaliqs ("Combalich" in the land of "Kitaisk" on the Ob River and "Cambalu" in "Cataia" north of the Great Wall) and one Beijing ("Paquin", at its correct location in "Xuntien" prefecture).

Khanbaliq or Dadu of Yuan (Chinese: 元大都Mongolian: ᠻᠠᠨᠪᠠᠯᠢᠺ) was the winter capital[1] of the Yuan dynasty of China in what is now Beijing, the capital of China today. It was located at the center of modern Beijing. The Secretariat directly administered the Central Region (腹裏) of the Yuan dynasty (comprising present-day Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and parts of Henan and Inner Mongolia) and dictated policies for the other provinces. As emperors of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan and his successors also claimed supremacy over the entire Mongol Empire following the death of Möngke (Kublai's brother and predecessor) in 1259. Over time the unified empire gradually fragmented into a number of khanates.

Khanbaliq is the direct predecessor to modern Beijing. Several stations of Line 10 and Line 13 are named after the gates of Dadu.

  1. ^ Masuya Tomoko, "Seasonal capitals with permanent buildings in the Mongol empire", in Durand-Guédy, David (ed.), Turko-Mongol Rulers, Cities and City Life, Leiden, Brill, p. 236.

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