00:00Italy, 1296 AD. The explorer Marco Polo is in jail. He is afraid he will die there, alone and unknown.意大利，公元 1296 年。探险家马可·波罗入狱。他担心自己会死在那里，孤独无名。

00:13With the help of a fellow prisoner, Polo writes a book to tell the world about his amazing adventures prior to his time in jail.在一位狱友的帮助下，波罗写下了一本书，向世人讲述他在入狱前的非凡历险。

00:24Polo tells of the journey he undertook to cafe, modern day China.波罗讲述了他前往现代中国咖啡馆的旅程。

00:30A civilization so advanced, they could predict the movement of the moon and stars.文明如此先进，他们可以预测月亮和星星的运动。

00:37According to historian Valerie Hansen, China then was a very foreign place to Europeans.根据历史学家瓦莱丽·汉森的说法，当时的中国对欧洲人来说是一个非常陌生的地方。

00:45Maybe like the South Pole has passed today.也许就像今天南极已经过去一样。

00:48That you can go, but it's a huge journey, not many people go.你可以去，但是这是一个巨大的旅程，没有多少人去。

00:53Polo's tale has become one of the most famous adventure stories ever written.波罗的故事已成为有史以来最著名的冒险故事之一。

01:00But some wonder, could this incredible story really be true?但有些人想知道，这个令人难以置信的故事真的是真的吗？

01:05According to his story, Marco Polo set off for China in 1271 AD, traveling as a merchant.根据他的故事，马可·波罗于公元 1271 年作为商人出发前往中国。

01:15His unparalleled journey took him over 8,000 kilometers, along the roots of the old Silk Road.他沿着古老丝绸之路的根源，走了8000多公里，进行了无与伦比的旅程。

01:22Eventually, he reaches the remote Tacla Macan Desert.最终，他到达了偏远的塔克拉马坎沙漠。

01:28Modern day explorer Charles Blackmore knows how dangerous the Tacla Macan can be.现代探险家 Charles Blackmore 知道 Tacla Macan 有多危险。

01:39The temperature of the desert is formidable in the summer, the temperature can reach up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit.夏天沙漠的温度非常高，最高可达130华氏度。

01:48There's no water in the desert.沙漠里没有水。

01:52There's no wells.没有水井。

01:56So you're walking through a sea of sand, and it's very difficult to think that you might come out the other end.所以你正走过一片沙海，很难想象你会从沙海的另一端出来。

02:06Polo claims he did just that, and made it all the way to Shane do, and the summer palace of Kubla Khan.波罗声称他就是这样做的，并一路到达沙恩都和忽必烈汗的夏宫。

02:15But some people have their doubts.但也有人对此表示怀疑。

02:18The reason I don't think Marco Polo went to China is that there are basic factual inaccuracies in the book.我之所以认为马可波罗没有去过中国，是因为书中存在基本的事实错误。

02:25He says he's at a battle that took place in 1273, and we know the battle took place in 1268, which is before he gets there.他说他正在参加一场发生在 1273 年的战斗，而我们知道这场战斗发生在 1268 年，也就是他到达那里之前。

02:33One of the things Marco Polo describes in his book is a fish that was 100 feet long that had fur on it.马可·波罗在他的书中描述了一条 100 英尺长、身上有毛的鱼。

02:41Others who believe Polo's claims point to details that could not have been invented in Europe.其他相信波罗说法的人指出了欧洲不可能发明的细节。

02:48Marco Polo, for example, was the first European to write about coal.例如，马可波罗是第一个撰写有关煤炭的欧洲人。

02:55Throughout the province of Cathay, there are large black stones that from the mountains, which burn and make flames, like logs.整个华夏省，都有来自山上的黑色大石头，燃烧起来会产生火焰，就像木头一样。

03:10Marco Polo was definitely in China.马可波罗肯定在中国。

03:13I am absolutely convinced of it because of the tremendous detail in this book.由于这本书中的大量细节，我对此深信不疑。

03:18In it, Marco Polo describes Kubla Khan's great summer palace.马可波罗在书中描述了忽必烈汗伟大的夏宫。

03:24The Holy Sovas that he could see six thousand for one banquet.神圣的索瓦斯，一场宴会他可以看到六千人。

03:29The city was excavated in the 1930s, and they found that the placement of the buildings and the style of the buildings was exactly the way Marco Polo described them.这座城市在20世纪30年代被发掘，他们发现建筑的布局和建筑风格与马可波罗所描述的一模一样。

03:40Whether Marco Polo did make it to China or not, his tale would be translated into many languages.无论马可波罗是否到达中国，他的故事都会被翻译成多种语言。

03:47And inspire many more explorers as it will for a long time to come.并在未来很长一段时间内激励更多的探索者。