Then, the orientation according to the solar azimuth is obtained by means of some elements of the walls, which become like the boundary of a local symbolic horizon. As we can see from Figure 1 for instance, from the center of the imperial palace, looking at the south gate, on the winter solstice, the sun was rising and setting in correspondence of two bastions of the walls. However, the two orientations can be combined: in the planning of Xanadu we can find the north-south orientation with Heavens, and also an orientation with the solar azimuth on solstices. In the case of a solar orientation, the plan of buildings or towns has a direction usually inclined with respect the cardinal direction, because the solar azimuth changes during the year. Orienting temples, monuments or towns due North could mean an orientation with the axis about which all the world is rotating (to ancient people the world was the physical universe). This direction can be easily found using the shadow of a gnomon, as discussed by Vitruvius, or by the observation of the rising and setting of some stars. The north-south direction is the projection on the Earth surface of the “axis mundi”, which is the cosmic axis connecting Heaven and Earth and passing through the celestial poles.
Let us note that a north-south orientation is different from a solar orientation with sunrise/sunset azimuths. This settlement is representing what was probably a typical settlement of North China, five or six thousand years ago. As told in, this orientation was already present in a very old Neolithic settlement, found at Banpo, near Xi’an.
One of the most evident features of this urban planning is a grid having a north-south orientation. The ancient Chinese urban planning included some symbolisms concerning cosmology, geomancy, astrology, and numerology, with the aim of maintaining a local harmony and balance. According to Reference 3, the city was designed implementing the traditional scheme for the city's architecture. The town of Xanadu was planned by the architect Liu Bingzhong (1216–1274), the Kublai’s adviser. Some solar orientations can also be found in the planning of Chinese Pyramids burial complexes, as discussed in the Reference 2.
Xanadu has an evident north-south orientation however, the remains of the walls seem to have some features, planned according to the direction of sunrise and sunset on the solstices, as we can easily see using Google satellite images and a software, provided by, which gives the solar azimuth during the year. a recent paper I have discussed a possible solar orientation of Shangdu, also known as Xanadu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan.
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