Xanadu Articles
Xanandu Poem – Kublai Khan
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots [...]
As yesterday, I emerge into the dawn gloom at about six twenty, with activity in the streets and buses in motion. Indeed, one is leaving even as I cross the street, but when I mention Peking, the driver motions me to the terminal building. Within, the ticket office ladies nominate a bus to some [...]
Xanadu (4 of 5)It is however, no ordinary embankment, but the remains of the walls and towers that girdled round twice five miles… Yes… this is the place. I go out into the bitter wind, and besides the track are stone pillars on which I recognize both Mongolian, and the ideograms for Shangdu. So here we are.
[...]
Xanadu (3 of 5)One of the office women conducts me next door to a hotel, and in the office a mob of curious locals gathers, including an English teacher (possibly sent for) who is more comfortable with written English. He writes that I must first go to Lanqui, two hours away by bus, and thence a further [...]
Xanadu (2 of 5)Sunday starts with a delay over depositing the Green Toad (my backpack) in the baggage room, so a city bus to the railway station would risk missing my 8:50 train. The assistants normally lurking around the gates are absent but a small taxi delivers some Chinese so he gets an immediate refill, and only [...]
Xanadu (1 of 5)Using local transport to visit Kublai Khan’s summe
