Dadu (Beijing)

Dadu (Chinese: (元)大都; pinyin: (Yuán) Dàdū; Mongolian: ᠳᠠᠶ᠋ᠢᠳᠤ, Dayidu) or Khanbaliq (Chinese: 汗八里; pinyin: Hánbālǐ; Mongolian: ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠪᠠᠯᠭᠠᠰᠤ, Qaɣan balɣasu) was the winter capital of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in what is now Beijing, the capital of China today. The Secretariat directly administered the Central Region (腹裏) of the Yuan dynasty (comprising present-day Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and parts of Henan and Inner Mongolia) and dictated policies for the other provinces. As emperors of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan and his successors also claimed supremacy over the entire Mongol Empire following the death of Möngke (Kublai's brother and predecessor) in 1259. Over time the unified empire gradually fragmented into a number of khanates. Dadu is the direct predecessor to modern Beijing. Several stations of the modern city's subway's Line 10 and Line 13 are named after the gates of Dadu.