The boy-emperor and his grandmother surrendered to General Bayan. (Marco said it had been predicted that the Emperor would only surrender to a hundred-eyed monster. The Mongol general's nickname, Old Hundred-Eyes, fulfilled the prediction.) They were taken to the Khan's palace, where the youngster was treated well. In time, he became a Buddhist monk. His half-brother, who might have carried on the dynasty, escaped but drowned as he tried to flee from the Mongol army. Southern China and the great city of Quinsai were now under Mongol rule.

Quinsai

Marco had never seen anything like Quinsai, the "city of heaven." This magnificent city was the largest and most prosperous city in the entire world at that time. It was 100 miles around, with a million inhabitants.

Quinsai was surrounded by water, with a lake on one side and a great river on the other. Canals entered through gates in the high white town-walls and flowed through the city, reminding Marco of his hometown of Venice. Bridges arched over the canals, allowing tall-masted vessels to pass through the city. Boats of all kinds traveled along the canals. There were barges loaded with rice, small fishing boats bringing the day's catch to the city's

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markets, and boats carrying fruit, bright flowers, and vegetables. Other boats served as taxis.

The city overflowed its borders. Outside its walls a jumble of houses and shops spilled over the landscape. On their outskirts, peasants fished, hunted, and tended crops. Whole families worked together, the boys in the fields and boats with their fathers, and the girls weaving fine silk or making fabric from hemp or cotton.

Inside the city's walls, multi-storied houses stood side by side, their bright yellow and green roofs nearly touching. The shops of jewelers, calligraphers, hat-makers, and book peddlers lined the streets. In other shops, astrologers told