Marco Polo was 17 the first time he saw his father. Soon after, he joined his father and uncle on a trip from Marco's hometown of Venice, Italy, to China. In the 1200s, that journey took several years and the three travelers faced many hazards. Once he arrived, Marco impressed the country's powerful leader Kublai Khan enough to become an ambassador and governor. He spent years crisscrossing China, then known as Cathay, in the Khan's service. He finally returned home, but a few years later he was imprisoned during a conflict between Venice and Genoa. During his imprisonment, he wrote a book that described places and sights few Europeans knew even existed and changed their view of the world forever.