2. Marco Polo Presenting the Pope’s Letter at the Court of
Kublai Khan – Encyclopedia Brittanica
3. Marco Polo’s Description of Xanadu – Wikipedia
• And when you have ridden three days from the city last mentioned,
between north-east and north, you come to a city called Chandu, which
was built by the Khan now reigning. There is at this place a very fine
marble palace, the rooms of which are all gilt and painted with figures of
men and beasts and birds, and with a variety of trees and flowers, all
executed with such exquisite art that you regard them with delight and
astonishment.
• Round this Palace a wall is built, inclosing a compass of 16 miles, and
inside the Park there are fountains and rivers and brooks, and beautiful
meadows, with all kinds of wild animals (excluding such as are of ferocious
nature), which the Emperor has procured and placed there to supply food
for his gerfalcons and hawks, which he keeps there in mew. Of these there
are more than 200 gerfalcons alone, without reckoning the other hawks.
• The Khan himself goes every week to see his birds sitting in mew, and
sometimes he rides through the park with a leopard behind him on his
horse's croup; and then if he sees any animal that takes his fancy, he slips
his leopard at it, and the game when taken is made over to feed the hawks
in mew.
4. Samuel Purchas’ Description of Xanadu - Wikipedia
• "This Citie is three dayes journey Northeastward to the Citie Xandu, which the Chan Cublai now
reigning built; erecting therein a marvellous and artificiall Palace of Marble and other stones, which
abutteth on the wall on one side, and the midst of the Citie on the other.
• He included sixteene miles within the circuit of the wall on that side where the Palace abutteth on
the Citie wall, into which none can enter but by the Palace. In this enclosure or Parke are goodly
meadows, springs, rivers, red and fallow Deere, Fawnes carrying thither for the Hawkes (of whom
are three mewed above two hundred Gerfalcons which he goeth once a week to see) and he often
useth one Leopard or more, sitting on Horses, which he setteth upon the Stagges and Deere, and
having taken the beast, giveth it to the Gerfalcons, and in beholding this spectacle he taketh
wonderful delight.
• In the middest in a faire wood he hath a royall House on pillars gilded and varnished, on every inch
of which is a Dragon all gilt, which windeth his tayle about the pillar, which his head bearing up the
loft, as also with his wings displayed on both sides; the cover also is of Reeds gilt and varnished, so
that the rayne can doe it no injury; the reeds being three handfuls thick and ten yards log, split
from knot to knot. The house itselfe also may be sundered, and taken downe like a Tent and
erected again. For it is sustained, when it is set up, with two hundred silken cordes. Great Chan
useth to dwell there three moneths in the yeare, to wit, in June, July and August.[8]
