Read the passage.
The city of [Khanbaliq] has such a multitude of houses, and such a vast population inside the walls and outside, that it seems quite past all possibility. There is a suburb outside each of the gates, which are 12 in number, and these suburbs are so great that they contain more people than in the city itself. In those suburbs live foreign merchants and travelers, of whom there are always great numbers who have come to bring presents to the emperor, to sell articles at court, or because the city affords so good a market to attract traders. . . . To the city also are brought articles of greater cost and rarity, and in greater abundance of all kinds, than to any other city in the world. . . . As a sample, I tell you, no day in the year passes that there do not enter the city 1,000 carts of silk alone, from which are made quantities of cloth of silk and gold, and of other goods.
–The Travels of Marco Polo,
Rustichello da Pisa
How is Kublai Khan’s capital city described in this passage?
The city is difficult to navigate and not friendly to foreigners.
The city is grand and busy, with great wealth and many goods to trade.
The city is dominated by the imperial palace and is mainly a center of government.
The city is small and uninteresting, with little to offer merchants and travelers.