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Marco Polo and the Silk Road

Travel between East and West went on long before and long after Marco Polo's trip to China. To find out why his name is remembered, let's learn more about the man and his times. In addition, we'll visit the Silk Road today.

Start your journey at http://www.easc.indiana.edu/pages/easc/curriculum/china/1996/EACPWorkBook/trad/polo.htm. Then take the quiz below to see what you have learned about Marco Polo.

1. When was Marco Polo born?    a. A.D. 1254   b. A.D. 1856   c. A.D. 1654

2. Where did he and his family live?    a. Venice, Italy   b. London, England   c. Hong Kong

3. Young Marco went on a trip to    a. Paris   b. New York   c. China

4. The ruler of the country he visited was    a. George Washington   b. Genghis Khan   c. Kublai Khan

5. Marco Polo became well known because

   a. he had great press coverage   b. he wrote a book   c. no one had ever been to China before

In 1997, a group of adventurers retraced Marco Polo's journey along the Silk Road from Venice, Italy, to China. At http://www.globalearn.org/expeditions/tae.html you can read their journals and look at the pictures they took. Make a list of the countries the Silk Road crosses through today.

Extension Activity

Write a comparative essay explaining how the Silk Road is different today from what it was like in the thirteenth century. How is it similar? Is it still important for trade? For whom?