Boris Johnson's father in documentary about Marco Polo

CGTN Europe

This year marks the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's journey, which helped open up the Silk Road to China. Don't miss the new documentary ‘In the Footsteps of Marco Polo’, where 83-year-old Stanley Johnson - former PM Boris Johnson's father - and his son Max, retrace the explorer’s epic journey.   Read more: https://rb.gy/g5dgx1   #china #travel #history #silkroad

Transcript

00:00And finally, this year marks the 700th anniversary of the death of the great explorer Marco Polo.

00:06The Venetian merchant helped open up the Silk Route for China.

00:10A new documentary, In the Footsteps of Marco Polo,

00:13retraces his epic journey across China as seen through the eyes of an 83-year-old Stanley Johnson,

00:19the father of the former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his son Max.

00:24Our correspondent Michael Voss reports.

00:27As a young man at university, Stanley Johnson set off with two friends on motorbikes

00:32to retrace Marco Polo's journey from Venice to Beijing.

00:37But they only got as far as Afghanistan.

00:40Now, 60 years later, accompanied by his son Max,

00:44he's finally completed the last leg of Marco Polo's route across China,

00:49thanks to a British-Chinese documentary co-production.

00:54We were following the footsteps of Marco Polo.

00:57What was Marco Polo?

00:58He was the great bridge-builder between East and West.

01:01He set out from Venice in 1370, got to Beijing four years later.

01:06He was the bridge-builder.

01:08We wanted to emulate him symbolically and, of course, in a practical sense, too.

01:12They covered 4,000 kilometres in six weeks,

01:16experiencing a range of people and cultures,

01:19including regions and landscapes few Westerners have seen before.

01:24Most of the journey was by car,

01:26but there were camel rides in the desert and yak rides in the mountains.

01:31All this with Stanley Johnson now in his 80s.

01:35We caught up with his Chinese producer, Dan Dan Chen, on Zoom.

01:40Dan Dan, how relieved are you that this 80-year-old man,

01:45you managed to get him through 4,000 kilometres safely and in one piece?

01:50When we, you know, sent all the teams to the airport in Beijing last year,

01:56that is the most relieved moment of my life.

02:00You know, Marco Polo has done the journey 700 years ago,

02:04but, you know, the Johnsons are taking it now, today.

02:08And it's not just repeating the road,

02:11because they're also experiencing a new China.

02:14So, with that kind of cultural exchange and, you know, engagement with each other,

02:19then we can actually know each other better

02:23and build a shared future for our generation to come.

02:28It was a British production company, One Tribe,

02:31which came up with the idea for the film.

02:34For me, the message is always the same.

02:36We are all human beings, and I think sometimes,

02:40particularly in times like we're going through now,

02:43where there is so many not great things happening in the world and with political tensions,

02:49people tend to forget that we're all human beings.

02:52And that's what this show shows.

02:55The documentary had its premiere in London,

02:58and the producers are now adapting it into a four-part TV series for global distribution.

03:04Michael Voss, CGTN.

Category

Transcript

Recommended