Marco Polo

Opinion | Where did English get the words ‘sampan’ and ‘junk’ from? Probably Cantonese and Javanese

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Opinion | Where did English get the words ‘sampan’ and ‘junk’ from? Probably Cantonese and Javanese

Traditional sampans adorned with panda-themed LED lights, as well as an authentic Chinese junk decorated with flags and panda motifs, cruising around Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter will be among the festivities in Hong Kong in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. Sampans – typically small, light, wooden boats … Read more

Venice opens big Marco Polo show to mark 700 years since the death of merchant who travelled to China

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Venice opens big Marco Polo show to mark 700 years since the death of merchant who travelled to China

Venice is commemorating its most famous son, Marco Polo, with a major exhibition to mark the 700th anniversary of his death. The show, which opened in early April, features excavated finds, maps and books, and can be seen in the Doge’s Palace until September 29. It also includes loans from countries that the merchant from … Read more

Opinion | After Baltimore bridge collapse shocks the world, a look at China’s ancient Marco Polo Bridge, known for different reasons

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Opinion | After Baltimore bridge collapse shocks the world, a look at China’s ancient Marco Polo Bridge, known for different reasons

Very early on in their history, the Chinese had mastered the technology of building bridges of considerable heft. Using wood, and then stone, they built bridges that spanned waterways and connected trunk roads. Cranes stand by as the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on the container ship MV Dali, on Saturday, March … Read more

Book extract: Marco Polo’s China travels have been doubted, but historian sees them in a new light

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Book extract: Marco Polo’s China travels have been doubted, but historian sees them in a new light

Extracted from The Light of Asia: A History of Western Fascination with the East by Christopher Harding, published by Allen Lane, January 2024 *** “Honoured emperors and kings, dukes and marquesses, counts, knights and townspeople, and all who want to know about the various races of mankind and the peculiarities of the various regions of … Read more