Xanadu is the city of legends and mystery, in which Genghis Khan’s grandsons once build a great palace. Now, three beautifully colored Xanadu dragons have been discovered there.
The discovered dragonhead clay statues are very well preserved. They were constructed of red clay and colored with blue, yellow, black and white glaze. These Xanadu dragons would have been placed on the end of beams and acted as a form of decoration in the palace.
Xanadu Palace Built by Genghis Khan’s Grandsons
The palace in which the Xanadu dragons were discovered covers an area of more than 100,000 square feet. It had been undergoing an excavation when the statues were discovered by researchers.
The palace was built in 1256 in Xanadu — known as Shangdu by the Chinese — during the reign of one of Genghis Khan’s grandsons, Mongke Khan. The leader of the Mongol Empire died only three years later in 1259, and was succeeded by another one of Genghis Khan’s grandsons, Kublai Khan, who actually eventually in the design of the city. The site of the palace includes three sections: the imperial city, the outer city and the palatial district. The whole site covers more than 120 acres of land.
Xanadu Dragons Help Show History of Xanadu
Xanadu was destroyed in 1368, but despite its fairly short existence, it was romanticized in legends and stories detailing Genghis Khan and his descendent line of powerful rulers. The discovery of the Xanadu dragons is helping to show what the palace looked like in its prime.
Besides the Xanadu dragons, the researchers found other interesting items at the palace site. These included a “mandao,” a ramp that allowed horses, animals and vehicles access to the court. This was an important find, as it emphasizes the importance of animals in the Mongolian way of life. Other artifacts found include: brightly colored fish head statues made of clay that were colored with a green and yellow glaze, and tiles and dripstones with decorative patterns made to resemble dragons and birds.
Several Teams Involved In Xanadu Excavations
Several research teams are involved in the excavation of Xanadu, which began in 2009. Some of these teams include the Inner Mongolia Normal University, the Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics, and the Archaeology and Inner Mongolian Institute for Cultural Relics Conservation. Results of their finds, along with information on the Xanadu dragons, are now printed in an English version in the most recent volume of Chinese Cultural Relics.
