Did Marco Polo really travel to China?
Some historians think he never made it past the Black Sea.
The answer
Marco Polo claimed to have spent 17 years in China (1275–1292) serving Kublai Khan's court, and his book Il Milione became medieval Europe's primary source on East Asia. However, skeptics note he never mentioned the Great Wall, chopsticks, tea, foot binding, or Chinese writing - all things a long-term visitor would surely have noticed. Supporters counter that he accurately described the Mongol postal system, paper money, and coal use. Whether he traveled there or compiled accounts from other traders remains debated.
Source: National Geographic
- exploration
- China
- medieval
- trade
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