Marco Polo grew up in Venice while his father and uncle were away trading in faraway lands. When they finally came home, they decided to head back - and 17-year-old Marco went with them. The journey across mountains, deserts, and rivers took more than three years.
At the other end, in what is now China, the great Mongol emperor Kublai Khan took a liking to the young Venetian. Marco served the Khan for about 17 years, traveling all over the empire as a kind of royal observer. He saw paper money, coal burning like rock, and a postal system that could carry a letter 250 miles a day.
He finally came home to Venice in 1295. Soon after, he was captured in a sea battle and dictated his adventures to a fellow prisoner. The book - usually called The Travels of Marco Polo - opened European eyes to Asia and inspired explorers like Columbus 200 years later.
