In the footsteps of Marco Polo: From Yuan Dadu to modern Beijing

In the footsteps of Marco Polo: From Yuan Dadu to modern Beijing

In 1275, when Italian traveler Marco Polo arrived in Dadu, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial palace had just been structurally completed, and he bore witness to the rise of a grand eastern metropolis."The entire city's ground plan resembles a chessboard. Its perfection is beyond description," wrote Marco Polo in his famed travelogue, "The Travels of Marco Polo."Although much of Dadu was built over in later eras, its urban planning an…