Editing A.C.I.O. (section)

== 1. The historical reality: what Xanadu and Tartary really are ==
In history books and old cartography, these two names designate quite distinct realities of Asia:

* '''Xanadu (or Shangdu)''': This was the summer capital of the Mongol Empire under the reign of Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan) in the 13th century. Located in Inner Mongolia, it was immortalized in the West by the accounts of Marco Polo and symbolizes a place of splendor, opulence, and mystery.
* '''Tartary (or Great Tartary)''': This was not a unified empire, but a general geographical term used by European cartographers from the Middle Ages until the 19th century. It served to designate the immense little-known region of Central Asia and Siberia, inhabited by various nomadic peoples (Mongols, Turks, Tatars), somewhat like the term “Africa” today designates a continent and not a single country.

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