Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17 years old, he traveled across Europe and Asia with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese.
When they eventually arrived in Beijing, they were warmly welcomed by Kublai Khan, the Yuan Dynasty Emperor. Marco was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to so many important tasks across the country.
Marco Polo, in turn, was amazed by how beautiful and powerful China was. He was very impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especially the Summer Palace. There were many inventions and developments in China, which were not available in Europe at that time. Marco Polo was amazed to see Chinese people using paper money in markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold pr silver. He was also confused by the black stones people used to burn for fuel, as he had never seen coal before!
After 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco Polo returned to Italy. Unluckily, a local war broke out, and he was caught and put into prison. He met another prisoner who enjoyed listening to his stories about China. The prisoner was an author and he took dictation while listening. Later he wrote the stories in a book called The Description of the World, one of the best sellers(畅销书) in Europe.
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