Marco Polo

Merchant and traveller, born in Venice, NE Italy. After a previous visit to Kublai Khan in China (1260-9), his father and uncle made a second journey (1271-5), taking Marco with them. He became an envoy in Kublai Khan's service, and served as Governor of Yangzhou. He left China in 1292, returned to Venice (1295), and fought against the Genoese, but was captured. During his imprisonment, he compiled an account of his travels, Il milione (trans The Travels of Marco Polo), which became widely read. The book gives a vivid description of Kublai Khan and his palace, Chinese daily life, the Grand Canal and Yangtze, and many cities, including the unfinished Beijing. The historicity of his account has been questioned - he failed to mention several important features (such as the Great Wall), and there is in fact no record in Chinese archives of his presence or governorship there. His details could have come from Arab merchants.