(c.1254-1324) Venetian merchant and traveler. His account of his travels in China was the basis of European perceptions of the Far East until the 19th century. His father and uncle had visited China as merchants (1260- 69). When they returned in 1271, Marco, then aged 17, accompanied them. They arrived at Shangdu, Khubilai Khan's summer capital, in 1275. Marco entered the khan's service and spent 17 years travelling in China before returning to Venice in 1295 via southeast Asia. Marco dictated the account of his travels to the writer Rustichello while imprisoned by the Genoese.