What question did this study set out to answer?

The article aims to explore the architectural planning principles of the Yuan Palace City and its construction techniques.

May 8, 2026Open Access

Planning the Palace City of the Yuan

Key Points

The article aims to explore the architectural planning principles of the Yuan Palace City and its construction techniques.
Analyzed the construction sequence and planning scale of the Yuan Palace City.
Examined the layout design and central axis alignment with environmental elements.
Investigated the use of traditional technologies and planning tools in the design process.
Reveals the innovative integration of traditional techniques in capital planning.
Demonstrates how environmental elements influenced the layout and alignment of the city.
Highlights the systematic approach used in the planning process of the Yuan Palace City.

Abstract

The Capital of the Yuan (Yuan Dadu, 元大都) was a newly planned city of the 13th century in China. The famous architectural historian Liang Sicheng (梁思成) called it “the incomparable masterpiece of capital planning”. The planning of the Yuan Palace City (Yuan Danei, 元大内, the core of Yuan Dadu) demonstrates the application of a combination of traditional technologies, such as locating the central axis according to surrounding environmental elements, and arranging the plan through the use of rules and compasses. This article analyzes the construction sequence, planning scale, centering and plane layout of the Yuan Palace City, and reveals the generation logic of its planning from the perspective of tools and techniques.

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