Chinese archeologists have mapped the layout of Shangdu (better known as Xanadu), after large scale excavations that included the use of GIS in remote sensing and aerial archeology. The capital, located in Inner Mongolia, was built in 1256 under the command of Kublai Khan, the first emperor of Yuan Dynasty, who was enthroned there four years later. It became a summer resort after the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) moved its capital to Ta-tu or Dadu (built by the same architect, located in present-day Beijing) in 1276, and was destroyed during a peasant war at the end of the dynasty. The regional government has submitted an application for World Cultural Heritage status for the site to UNESCO, currently under review. Xanadu has captured the imagination of the West ever since Marco Polo first extolled its beauties in his Books of the Marvels of the World, subsequently immortalized by Coleridge in a poem fuelled by opium fevered dreams. Other recently discovered Yuan Dynasty artifacts include a priceless porcelain vase as well as a sunken ship - part of an invading Mongol armada - off the coast of Japan.
posted by infini on Dec 3, 2011 - 24 comments

Unidentified Titan Object Saturn's moon Titan shows an unusual bright spot that has scientists mystified. The spot, approximately the size and shape of West Virginia, is just southeast of the bright region called Xanadu and is visible to multiple instruments on the Cassini spacecraft.
posted by Diamornte on May 25, 2005 - 32 comments

Mirapuri - City of Peace and Future Man
posted by Captaintripps on Apr 5, 2005 - 10 comments

Ted Nelson rocks! This article from Interactive Week is a month old or so, but it was so enjoyable, I re-read it recently and had to post it. The HyperTextual Man writes and rants about breaking free from the conceptual shackles of interfaces and metaphors. Let the web do its own thing. Let anyone program. Of, course he's talking in terms of his Xanadu project, but nevertheless, some provoking commentary.
posted by grant on Nov 24, 1999 - 1 comment