Having crossed the Gobi, the Polos found themselves in the heart of China. They followed the Yellow River, one of that country's great waterways, until they met representatives of the Great Khan who led them to Shang-tu (shahng-DOO). The latter, known to Europeans by the name Xanadu (ZAN-uh-doo), was the Khan's summer residence, some three hundred miles north of Beijing.
Though he must have seen China's Great Wall, Marco never recorded the event. Yet there was much to impress him when he and his father and uncle arrived at the court of the Great Khan in May 1275. Kublai Khan, Marco later wrote, "is the greatest Lord that is now in the world or ever has been."
Marco found the court at Shang-tu splendid, but not as luxurious as the Khan's palace in Beijing. There, he reported, the Khan's four wives were attended by some forty thousand servants, and Marco himself dined at a banquet where some six thousand guests were served all manner of delicacies.
As it turned out, Kublai was as impressed with Marco as Marco was with him. While his father and uncle became involved in several successful business ventures, Marco spent most of his time at court. During the corruption trial of an official, he testified regarding the man's dishonest actions, thus showing his loyalty to the Khan. The latter therefore appointed him to a series of offices which, over the next years, would vastly extend the scope of Marco's already extraordinary travels.
World History
