Facts about Mongol imperial palace construction
- 08
Corridors connecting palace buildings at Xanadu featured heated underfloor systems using hot air channels that distributed warmth from central furnaces throughout the imperial compound during winter months.
- 07
Ögedei Khan's palace at Karakorum included a massive audience hall with a wooden roof supported by 64 pillars, each carved from single logs and capable of accommodating over 6,000 courtiers and dignitaries during the 1240s.
- 06
Roofs of Mongol imperial palaces at Karakorum used glazed ceramic tiles imported from China, with colors including blue, green, and yellow that reflected status and required skilled craftsmen to install during the 13th century.
- 05
Mongke Khan's palace at Karakorum featured a silver tree fountain standing 30 feet tall with four metal lions spouting airag, wine, and mare's milk through separate spouts for imperial banquets during the 1250s.
- 04
Elaborate water systems at Xanadu, Kublai Khan's summer palace, included underground pipes constructed from bronze and ceramic to distribute water throughout the 6-square-mile compound during the 13th century.
- 03
The great palace at Karakorum required extensive use of felt-covered wooden pavilions that could be dismantled and relocated, reflecting the Mongols' nomadic construction traditions even in permanent imperial settlements.
- 02
Mongol imperial palaces required 12,000 workers to construct the compounds at Karakorum, with timber imported from forests over 500 kilometers away during the 13th century.
- 01
Kublai Khan's palace at Khanbaliq featured a 120-foot-high central structure with walls containing marble and precious stones, completed around 1279.