First broadcast in 1982, this Emmy award winning epic adventure cost a staggering ten million dollars and featured an all-star, Oscar winning cast. Filmed on location in Italy, Morocco, Nepal and China this lavish mini-series was the first Western production to film in China after WWII and took over thirteen months to complete. An epic in every sense of the word. Born in Venice in 1254, Marco Polo was just 17 when he set off with his father and uncle to travel the Silk Road to China. Their adventurous journey through Asia, which lasted three and half years, took them through uncharted territory and went down in history as one of the greatest exploratory journeys of all time. Marco then spent 17 years in Peking as the guest of the Great Khan, winning the trust and respect of the Emperor for whom he carried out various diplomatic missions. Marco took great care to understand and record the culture, language, traditions and customs of the people he met during his long travels and as a result became one of histories legendary explorers.