Dynasties · 1271 – 1368

Yuan元

The Mongol century. Kublai Khan finished what his grandfather Genghis started, and for the first time China was ruled entirely by outsiders — who then largely governed it as Chinese emperors. The lasting physical legacy is Beijing: the Yuan laid out the grid the city still follows, extended the Grand Canal north so grain could reach it, and built the lake system the Forbidden City was later placed beside. This is also the period Marco Polo describes, whether or not he actually went.