Home to the wealthier Mongolian citizens, the eastern district of Khanbaliq was an enviable place to live. The residences were of fine quality here, and the markets offered just about anything money could buy. One could find silks, satins and leather goods, fur hats and jewelry, books and writing supplies, and the best of imported edibles. The goods brought up from the south via Grand Canal and offloaded at the Houhai wharf gave rise to a thriving warehouse and trading district. For relaxation, one could visit the many theaters, restaurants and wine shops.

The well educated Chinese nobility also lived here, though they were barred from the governmental service by the new regime who had replaced their expertise with Mongolians and foreigners. The Chinese turned their energies to literature and the arts, with particular accomplishments being made in the theater arts and opera, both favored entertainments of the Mongol elite. Most of these were written under assumed names, as playwriting was not considered to be a worthy occupation. The best Chinese scholars refused to teach in the public schools set up by the Mongols and established private schools to educate their own young. Though the Chinese laws and customs were still in place, the differences in background, education, language, and even the dress of the new administrators made it quite difficult for the Mongols to completely win control of their Chinese subjects, but the Yuan dynasty did not attempt any censorship of their Chinese subjects' literary and intellectual efforts.


Sources:
Lane, George. Daily Life in the Mongol Empire. Greenwood Press, 2006.
Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. Chinese Imperial City Planning. University of Hawaii Press, 1990.
Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman, editor. Chinese Architecture. Yale University and New World Press, 2002.
Yuan Dynasty

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