Marco Polo was an Italian explorer and merchant who was born on 15th September 1254.
Although he was not the first person to travel to China, he was the first one to write about them and that is one reason why his travels were so important.
He wrote vivid descriptions of what he saw and discovered in China.
After his travel to China, where he lived for almost 20 years, he brought the idea of paper money. It is said that he also introduced the pasta to Italy. He brought a lot of spices and silk.