In 1271, Kublai, a grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Central Plain, founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and made Dadu (today's Beijing) the capital. Kublai wrote finis to the centuries-long situation in which many independent regimes existed side by side, and formed a united country that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan under its sway. During the Song-Yuan period, the four great inventions in science and technology of the Chinese people in ancient times—papermaking, printing, the compass and gunpowder—were further developed, and introduced to foreign countries, making great contributions to world civilization.

The Yuan Dynasty, or Great Yuan Empire, was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in China[1], lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. In Chinese history, the Yuan Dynasty followed the Song Dynasty and preceded the Ming Dynasty. Although the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, he had his grandfather Genghis Khan placed on the official record as the founder of the dynasty or Taizu. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty became Emperor of China by 1279, though Kublai Khan had also claimed the title of Great Khan, i.e. supremacy over the other Mongol khanates; however this claim was only recognized by the Il-Khanids, who were nevertheless essentially self-governing. Although later emperors of the Yuan Dynasty were recognized by the three virtually independent western khanates as their nominal suzerains, they each continued their own separate developments. But the Mongol Empire as a whole remained strong and united. The Yuan is sometimes referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. Neverthless, the Mongol Emperors of the Yuan held the title of Great Khan of all Mongol Khanates.
The last years of the Yuan Dynasty were marked by struggle, famine, and bitterness among the populace. The dynasty was, significantly, one of the shortest-lived dynasties in the history of China, covering just a century, 1271 to 1368. In time, Kublai Khan's successors lost all influence on other Mongol lands across Asia, while the Mongols beyond the Middle Kingdom saw them as too Chinese. Gradually, they lost influence in China as well. The reigns of the later Yuan emperors were short and were marked by intrigues and rivalries. Uninterested in administration, they were separated from both the army and the populace. China was torn by dissension and unrest; outlaws ravaged the country without interference from the weakening Yuan armies.
The Yuan remnants retreated to Mongolia after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming in 1370, where the Yuan Dynasty was formally carried on. It was called the Northern Yuan by Chinese and Mongols. According to Chinese political orthodoxy, there could be only one legitimate dynasty whose rulers were blessed by Heaven to rule as Emperor of China, and so the Ming and the Northern Yuan denied each other's legitimacy as emperors of China, although the Ming did consider the previous Yuan which it had succeeded a legitimate dynasty. Historians generally regard Míng Dynasty rulers as the legitimate emperors of China after the Yuan Dynasty, though Northern Yuan rulers also claimed this title.