Nevertheless, today it is physically impossible to completely follow in the steps of Marco Polo,because over the past 700 years the topography in this part of the world has changed a great deal.

Due to the southerly movement of the deserts and the fact that many rivers have changed course, his original route has long since disappeared and a new one has come into existence.

A Qing-Dynasty scroll "The Snow-Coved Tianshan"->

For these reasons, we could only approximately trace Marco Polo's route, a route which he traversed by horse and camel, while we had the modern comfort of a car. On a mid summer day we began our journey by jeep from Kunjirap Pass in the Pamir Highland.

Travelling eastward we passed through Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Hebei.When we arrived at our final destination of Beijing, it was autumn and yellow leaves carpeted the ground.

Our 12,000-kilonmetre route started from a plateau over 4,000 metres above sea level and ended in the North China Plain at altitude of less than 100 metres. Along the way we met Tajiks,Uigurs, Yugurs, Tus,Huis, Mongols and Huns, observed their life styles, and saw the different scenery each region has to offer.

Covering such a long distance in only 80 days was no easy task, even with today's excellent