The story of Marco Polo's journey across the vast land of China has entertained and informerd generations of people all over the world since it was first published nearly 700 years ago.Being exploration enthusiasts,we had long indulged in the romantic dream of one day identifying and tracing Marco Polo's route through northern China.
Marco Polo chose the most perilous route possible from Venice to China, a country still shrouded in mystery and myth in the Western world. His incredible adventures in Asia and the book he wrote made this Italian merchant world-famous. Upon its publication, The Travels of Marco Polo created a furore throughout Europe, and is still widely consulted today In the sections related to China, Marco Polo described in vivid detail the society people, customs,local products and important events existing in China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). However, not being a guidebook, it does not give any account of the specific route the traveller took, measuring distances by how many days it took to go from one place to the next. This deficiency was exactly what we so desperately needed in order to plan our journey.
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