Many people say Marco Polo was the greatest explorer that ever lived, traveling 33,000 miles by land and sea from Venice, Italy, to what today is known as Beijing, China. His famous book, The Travels of Marco Polo, indicates that he was a man of extraordinary bravery, brilliance, and strength. With his uncle and father, he traveled across Turkey, Armenia, the Middle East, the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, and the hot Taklimakan Desert before finally reaching China in 1275. Welcomed by the great emperor Kublai Khan, Marco Polo was amazed by the inventions, riches, and religious tolerance of the great Khan's kingdom, where Marco remained for the next twenty years.

Inspired by the Eastern culture of the thirteenth century, Demi created illustrations with Chinese inks and gold overlays, and used a mixture of Chinese and Indian embroidery and Italian, Arabian, and Persian designs of gold and ink on silk when creating the borders and frames.