Marco Polo is a merchant from the Italian City-State of Venice. Marco Polo wrote a fascinating book about his travels in China and other parts of Asia in the late 13th century. The book helped Europeans to learn about Asian peoples and goods. Interested in getting goods directly from China, Marco Polo traveled along the Silk Road in 1271. In Marco’s time, very little was known about Asia in Europe. Marco’s father and uncle were merchants who traveled to many lands. In 1271 they took young Marco to Asia. The Polos sailed over the Mediterranean Sea to what is now Israel. Then they traveled overland through Turkey, Persia (now Iran), and Afghanistan. In central Asia they followed a trail called the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a trade route for fine silk cloth from China. In 1275 the Polos reached Shangdu, in Mongolia. This was the summer home of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China. For about 20 years Marco Polo worked for the emperor. His errands took him all the way to southwestern China and probably Burma (now Myanmar). For their return trip to Venice, the Polos took 14 of Kublai Khan’s ships. They sailed from eastern China to the coast of Persia. Then they went overland through Persia and Turkey. They finally reached Venice in 1295. Everyone was amazed to see them alive after so many years. Polo’s published a book about Asia sparked curiosity and helped fuel the Renaissance by encouraging trade, travel, thought, and art.