A humorous spin on Marco Polo's exploration of Asia.

Pack your bags-we're going on an incredible trip! TRAVEL WITH THE GREAT EXPLORERS takes you on some of the most remarkable journeys of exploration. Discover where the explorers went, why they went there, how they got there, and what went right and wrong along the way. Marco Polo's father and uncle had left on a trade trip to China just before he was born, When they returned years later, Marco was already in his teens. When the Polos set out to visit the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan again, Marco went with them. In China, he became the Khan's ambassador. On his eventual return to Europe, Marco Polo wrote a record of what he had seen, including beautiful cities, unicorns, and bandits who used magic to cause sandstorms. His account became one of the most famous travel books in history. Book jacket.

Marco Polo, the first European to travel to China and return to write about his adventures, was born in Venice in 1254. Marco's father had left on a journey to Asia before the boy was born. Marco did not see his father and uncle, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, until fifteen years later. In 1271 the three Polos left Venice and headed for the court of Kublai Khan in eastern China. The journey took them more than three years—they arrived in 1275. Marco Polo became a favorite of the Great Khan, and was sent on important missions all over the Mongol Empire. Marco and his father and uncle served Kublai Khan for 17 years. When they returned to Venice in 1295, Marco became the captain of a merchant ship and was captured and imprisoned in Genoa. While in prison he and another prisoner who was a writer of romances wrote the story of Marco Polo's adventures.

Concerns a collection of maps and associated documents claimed to be from Marco Polo's time or that of his daughters (as many of the maps have the name or one or another of the three daughters on them). Discusses provenance, authenticity, and history of the documents, known to scholars as "the Marco Polo Maps" since 1948, here discussed fully for the first time.

Separates fact from myth using excerpts from Polo's actual journals and illustrations and photos to portray Polo himself and his impressions of the unique traditions and customs of the Mongols.

Who spent over twenty years exploring China? Marco Polo did. He was born in Venice, Italy, in 1254. At the age of seventeen, Marco Polo left Venice for China with his father and uncle. After traveling over mountains and through deserts, the Polos made it to China. There, Marco Polo met the emperor Kublai Khan and began exploring. In Marco Polo: Explorer of China, author Kathy Feeney describes some of the wonderful things Marco Polo saw for the first time in China. Imagine what it must have felt like to have seen a giraffe for the first time or palace walls covered in gold. Read about Marco Polo's exciting adventures. Book jacket.