(1254-1324) is probably the most famous Westerner traveled on the Silk Road. He excelled all the other travelers in his determination, his writing, and his influence. His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He reached further than any of his predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. He became a confidant of Kublai Khan (1214-1294). He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became the greatest travelogue.

In May 1275 the Polos arrived to the original capital of Kublai Khan at Shang-tu (then the summer residence), subsequently his winter palace at his capital, Cambaluc (Beijing).  By then it had been 3 and half years since they left Venice and they had traveled total of 5600 miles on the journey.

Marco, a gifted linguist and master of four languages, became a favorite with the khan and was appointed to high posts in his administration. He served at the Khan's court and was sent on a number of special missions in China, Burma and India. Many places which Marco saw were not seen again by Europeans until last century. Marco went on great length to describe Kublia's capital, ceremonies, hunting and public assistance, and they were all to be found on a much smaller scale in Europe. Marco Polo fell in love with the capital, which later became part of Beijing, then called Cambaluc or Khanbalig, meant 'city of the Khan.' This new city, built because astrologers predicted rebellion in the old one, was described as the most magnificent city in the world.

The idea of paper substituting gold and silver was a total surprise even to the merchantile Polos. Marco attributed the success of paper money to Kublai stature as a ruler. "With these pieces of paper they can buy anything and pay for anything. And I can tell you that the papers that reckon as ten bezants do not weight one." Marco's expressions of wonder at "stones that burn like logs" show us how ignorant even a man of a leading Mediterranean sea power could be in the 13th century. Coal was by no means unknown in Europe but was new to Marco: "

Marco Polo traveled in great deal in China. He was amazed with China's enormous power, great wealth, and complex social structure. China under the Yuan (The Mongol Empire) dynasty was a huge empire whose internal economy dwarfed that of Europe. He reported that Iron manufacture was around 125,000 tons a year (a level not reached in Europe before the 18th century) and salt production was on a prodigious scale: 30,000 tons a year in one province alone. A canal-based transportation system linked China's huge cities and markets in a vast internal communication network in which paper money and credit facilities were highly developed. The citizens could purchase paperback books with paper money, eat rice from fine porcelain bowls and wear silk garments, lived in prosperous city that no European town could match.

The Polos stayed in Khan's court for 17 years, acquiring great wealth in jewels and gold. They were anxious to be on the move since they feared that if Kublai - now in his late seventies - were to die, they might not be able to get their considerable fortune out of the country. The Kublai Khan reluctantly agreed to let them return after they escorted a Mongol princess Kokachin to marry to a Persian prince, Arghun.

Marco did not provide full account of his long journey home. The sea journey took 2 years during which 600 passengers and crewed died. Marco did not give much clue as to what went wrong on the trip, but there are some theories. Some think they may have died from scurvy, cholera or by drowning; others suggest the losses were caused by the hostile natives and pirate attacks. This dreadful sea voyage passed through the South China Sea to Sumatra and the Indian Ocean, and finally docked at Hormuz. There they learned that Arghun had died two years previously so the princess married to his son, prince Ghazan, instead. In Persia they also learned of the death of Kublai Khan. However his protection outlived him, for it was only by showing his golden tablet of authority that they were able to travel safely through the bandit-ridden interior. Marco admitted that the passports of golden tablets were powerful.

From Trebizond on the Black Sea coast they went by sea, by way of Constantinople, to Venice, arriving home in the winter of 1295.

Fiction or not, his Travels has captured readers through the centuries. Manuscript editions of his work ran into the hundreds within a century after his death. The book was recognized as the most important account of the world outside Europe that was available at the time. Today there are more than 80 manuscript copies in various versions and several languages around the world.  

 Adopted from: http://www.silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml, 18 January 2006.

                                                      (1371-1433) In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, that is, early in the 15th century, China was, in economic progress, an advanced country in the world. At the orders of the then emperor, Cheng Zu, whose name was Zhu Di, a vast fleet set sail in July, 1405 from Liujia Harbour near Suzhou on a distant voyage. The purpose was to establish relations with foreign countries, to expand trade contacts and to look for treasures to satisfy the desire of the sovereign for luxuries. The man who was given charge of the fleet was ZHENG He, a eunuch also known as San Bao. Under his command was a vast fleet of 62 ships manned by more than 27, 800 men, including sailors, clerks, interpreters, officers and soldiers, artisans, medical men and meteorologists. On board the ships were large quantities of cargo that could be broken down into over 40 different categories, including silk goods, porcelain, gold and silver ware, copper utensils, iron implements, cotton goods, mercury, umbrellas and straw mats. The fleet sailed a-long the coast of Fujian, down south to Zhancheng and, after crossing the South China Sea, reached such places as Java and Sri Lanka. On the way back, it sailed along the west coast of India and triumphantly returned to the home port in 1407. Emperor Cheng Zu was very pleased with ZHENG He's extraordinary feats as an envoy in making visits to various foreign countries.

Between 1405 and 1433, ZHENG He had, over a period of 28 years, eight times been ordered to act as envoy to countries lying to the west of China. Each time he had under his command a big fleet and a staff of more than 20,000 men. His fleets had sailed in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. They had gone further south to Java in today's Indonesia. Sailing then in a northwest direction, they had visited Yemen, Iran and the Holy City of Islam Mecca and further west to today's Somalia in East Africa. In all, he had made calls at more than 30 countries and territories. All this had taken place about half a century before the famous European sailor Columbus's voyage to America. For this reason, Zhen He's expeditions could rightfully be called "an unprecedented feat in the history of navigation of mankind. "

On each voyage ZHENG He was acting as the envoy and commercial representative of the Ming court. No matter what country he visited, he called on the ruler of the land, presenting to him valuable gifts in token of China's sincere desire to develop friendly relations and inviting the host sovereign to send emissaries to China. Wherever he was, he made a careful study of the customs and habits of local residents. Showing them due respect, he bartered or dealt with them through consultation and negotiation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. In this way, he obtained large quantities of pearls and precious stones, coral, ivory and dyestuffs for the Chinese emperor. He also brought back several kinds of rare and precious animals such as giraffe, lion, ostrich and leopard. In ancient India, Chinese sailors made a good impression on the local people by observing local trading customs and practices such as clapping hands to clinch a deal in full view of others and never going back on it. When he visited Sri Lanka on his third voyage, ZHENG He offered a quantity of gold and silver Buddhist ceremonial vessels and silk-knit religious pennants to local temples on whose ground steles were set up to mark the occasion of his visit. Wherever he went, he was warmly received. At Zhancheng, the king of the land, in full royal regalia, came in person on elephantback with 500 cavalrymen to meet him at the wharf and then take him back to the palace. On the way they were greeted by local inhabitants who blew trumpets made of coconut shells and performed national dances at a solemn and joyous ceremony. Even today, people in Somalia and Tanzania look upon Ming China unearthed today as a symbol of the traditional friendship between their own country and China. In Thailand today, there are places named after ZHENG He's childhood name Sanbao (three treasures) such as Sanbao Harbour and Sanbao Pagoda. Malacca of Malaysia is known also as the City of Sanbao. At Java in Indonesia, there is the Sanbao Temple. In Calicut (Kozhikode today) of India, there is an inscribed tablet set up in ZHENG He's memory. In China itself, ZHENG He's voyages are now household tales.

The countries ZHENG He had visited later sent their emissaries and trade representatives to China from time to time. In 1419 when ZHENG He was sailing back on his fifth voyage, 17 countries sent their envoys to China, including Philippines and Malaysia. While in China, these foreign emissaries were shown great hospitality by Emperor Cheng Zu of Ming. The voyages by ZHENG He strengthened the friendly relations between China and other countries in Asia and Africa and gave an impetus to cultural and economic exchange between them.

On his first voyage overseas, the largest ship in the fleet had a length of 440 Chinese feet and a width of 180. Manned by more then 200 sailors and able to accommodate 1, 000 passengers, it was equipped with nine masts which flew 12 big sails. This was probably the largest sea-going vessel of the day. Other vessels might not be of the same size but on an average each one was able to carry aboard four to five hundred passengers. Many of the navigational problems encountered were solved in a rational, scientific way. For instance, the way fresh water was collected and stored, the stability of the hull and its buoyancy, the making of sea charts and the use of navigational apparatuses like the compass. This accounted for the fact that in spite of terrible storms, this fleet of friendship had ploughed the waves day and night in full sail. It is generally believed that ZHENG He had the largest, most advanced fleet in the world in the 15th century. On each of his 8 voyages, ZHENG He kept a detailed logbook and made many nautical charts which were later collected in what was called ZHENG He's Nautical Charts, which was the first of its kind in the world. From this we can say that China in those days probably led the world in the technology of ship-building and the science of navigation

Adopted from: http://www.chinavoc.com/history/ming/zh.htm., 18 January 2006.