Kublai Khan Establishes Dadu as Capital

Timeline

1. 1264Yanjing (old Jin Zhongdu) · North ChinaAfter defeating his rival brother Ariq Böke, Kublai in 1264 moved the main government center to Yanjing (the former Jin Zhongdu, southwest of modern Beijing), marking the formal southward shift of Yuan rule from the Mongolian steppe to the North China Plain and laying the geographic foundation for a unified Central Plains dynasty.
2. 1267–1272Dadu city (newly built) · North ChinaIn 1267 Kublai ordered the Han Confucian official Liu Bingzhong to select a new site northeast of the old Zhongdu and plan the construction of Dadu. Centered on Jishuitan (modern Shichahai), the new city adopted a strict grid street layout, blending Han ritual norms with Mongol court traditions, and was largely completed over several years. In 1272 it was officially named Dadu, known in Mongolian as Khanbaliq (meaning 'City of the Great Khan'), becoming the formal Yuan capital.
3. 1271–1279Dadu · North ChinaIn 1271 Kublai officially proclaimed the state name 'Great Yuan', establishing Dadu as the Yuan capital. After the destruction of the Southern Song in 1279, Dadu became the capital of a unified China, one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the world. The Italian traveler Marco Polo visited during this period and described it as the astonishing 'Khanbaliq', greatly inspiring Europe's longing for the East.