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The Mongols had a great impact on civilian life in China.
One major contribution in this area is the building of Daidu
(present-day Beijing), the second Mongol capital. (Marco Polo
calls this city "Cambaluc," for Khan Bhalik,
meaning "The City of the Emperor"). Khubilai Khan recognized
that the Mongol capital at Khara
Khorum was not suitable for a great empire, mainly because
it required tremendous logistical efforts to supply the city.
About 500 carts a day had to be transported into Khara Khorum
to provide essential supplies of food and clothing for the
population.
Khubilai thus decided to move the capital farther south into
China, to the area that is now Beijing. The new capital, called
Daidu, became a typical Chinese-style city, though there also
were plenty of Mongol touches associated with the city.
Map of the Yuan
Dynasty, showing Khara Khorum and Cambaluc (Daidu/Beijing)
Marco Polo's account of life at Cambaluc (Daidu/Beijing)
[Text excerpted from The Book of
Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels
of the East, translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry
Yule]
• Chapter
X: Concerning the Palace of the Great Kaan [pdf]
— Description of Khubilai Khan's palace at Cambaluc (Daidu/Beijing)
• Chapter
XI: Concerning the City of Cambaluc [pdf] —
Detailed description of the layout of the city of Cambaluc
(Daidu/Beijing)
• Chapter
XXII: Concerning the City of Cambaluc, and Its Great Traffic
and Population [pdf] — Detailed description
of the population and life in the city of Cambaluc (Daidu/Beijing)
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