Over eight hundred years have passed since Kubla Khan dominated Asia and the Middle East, and still his legend lives on.  Due to his focused concentration of improvement, many positive policies and practices were implemented; such as education for all boys regardless of wealth, help for farmers to farm better with irrigation and proper animals and equipment, a more efficient postal system for better communication over great distances, he was first to implement standardized paper money, blue and white porcelains, more arts and theater.  His respect for the sciences greated an academy of medicine, an observatory which led to a more accurate calendar, and his diplomacy with foreigners enabled to learn from the world’s best and brightest.  One of these foreigners was a young Marco Polo from Italy, who traveled to China with his father and uncle.  He was tremendously impressed over his 17 year visit.  Upon his return home to Europe, he wrote about the wonders he had seen in the book The Travels of Marco Polo. The book was a success and remained so for hundreds of years.  Because of it, Europeans couldn’t wait to see for themselves the wonders of Asia.  This is when the age of East meeting West began.