Америка в прошлом и настоящем. Часть I. Горчакова Е.П - 18 стр.

Southeast Asia, and the Near East. And it was written by a man who had seen
these marvels himself.
      In 1271, Marco Polo left his native Venice. With his father and uncle, he
traveled to the court of Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor of China. Before he
returned home in 1295, Polo traveled throughout China, Southeast Asia, Tibet,
Burma (present-day Myanmar), and India.
     To the Europeans, Marco Polo's book seemed like a wonderful dream. It
confirmed1 what Muslim merchants already knew. The Orient was a marvelous
world filled with priceless2 treasures. There were spices in Java, pearls in India,
and jewels in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). China had silk, sugar, gold, silver,
and porcelain. Most important, there was salt and pepper.
     In the following selection, Marco Polo describes the old and beautiful city of
 Hangchow. We can imagine Christopher Columbus reading this page as he
 crossed the Atlantic in 1492. He must have been excited. He was sure that he
 was sailing directly toward splendid Oriental capitals like Hangchow.

adapted from
DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD
by Marco Polo
        The city of Hangchow is noble and magnificent. Its name means " heavenly
city." Indeed, this is a perfect name, since Hangchow is grander and more beautiful
than any other city in the world. The people who live here must think that they are
in heaven.
        Hangchow is located between a fresh-water lake and a great river. Water
from the river is carried through the city by canals. People have counted as many as
12,000 bridges which cross these canals. Some of the bridges are so high that ships
with tall masts can pass under them. Yet at the same time, carts and horses can pass
over them.
      In Hangchow, there are ten main squares. Each side of these squares is half a
mile in length. Along one side of the squares is the main street, which runs from
one end of the city to the other. It is crossed by many low, convenient bridges.
These market-squares are placed four miles from each other.
     Parallel to the main street, but on the other side of the squares, there is a very large
canal. Huge warehouses3 are built on its bank. Merchants who arrive from India
and other areas can use them as they buy and sell in the market-places. Three days
every week, between forty to fifty thousand people gather at each market-square.
They sell every kind of food that can be desired.
     Each of the ten market-squares is surrounded by high houses. On the first floor
of each house are the shops. Here, 4you can see every kind of manufacture. Spices,
pearls, drugs, and many other items are traded.
1
  confirm: offer proof
2
  priceless: very valuable
3
  warehouse: large building for storage
4
  items: things

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