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Xanadu

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Location

The Resume

    (circa 1259-1369)
    Chinese name is Shangdu
    Summer capital of Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan
    Square shaped with an outer city, an inner city and a palace
    Population peaked at 100 000
    Invaded and burned by Chinese army (1369)
    Under restoration since 2002 and officially opened to tourists on July 15, 2011

Why Xanadu might be annoying:

    Many assume it is an imaginary place.
    It has become a byword for exotic luxury.
    Many tacky hotels, resorts and nightclubs are named after it.
    Kublai Khan hunted game on its grounds with his pet leopard.
    Little remains of it save grass-covered mounds and crumbling ruins.

Why Xanadu might not be annoying:

    The Mongols used Chinese and Arabian advisors to assist in its design.
    Its location was picked to protect it from invaders and floods.
    Marco Polo wrote that its paintings were ‘executed with such exquisite art that you regard them with delight and astonishment.’
    It inspired a film starring Olivia Newton-John, a song by Rush and a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
    A reflective, icy part of Saturn's moon Titan is named ‘Xanadu.’

Credit: Georgina


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 18 Votes: 38.89% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 69 Votes: 75.36% Annoying