2 Europeans in East Asia

It was around the time of the Yuan Dynasty that we have extensive accounts of Europeans in East Asia. Perhaps the most known is Marco Polo (1254-1324 CE), who did arrive in today’s China, but was closer to the Mongol domination. He did not learn Chinese, but did speak Mongol and Turk. Ibn Battuta (1304-1377 CE) is less famous, yet he produced some very acute observations about East Asian customs. They are both examples of how, given the right conditions, traveling was facilitated by the presence of one big empire.