ABSTRACT

The Jin took pride in Zhongdu and used hundreds of thousands of workers to enhance the city, building both fortifications and royal palaces. When the Mongols over­ threw the Jin in the thirteenth century, the capital was de­ stroyed. The Mongols chose the site of Beijing as the seat of their dynasty, the Yuan (1234-1368), and the city was re­ named Khanbaliq (City of Khan); it was most commonly known, however, as Dadu (Great Capital). As the capital of the Yuan, the city was rebuilt in grand style. The great traveler Marco Polo spent some time there in 1275, and he described at length the "wonders of the city."