On the Pamir plateau the Polos are swept away by an avalanche. Marco wakes up in the Muztag-Ata monastery, surrounded by golden Buddhas. After Niccolò and Matteo end up safe, the caravan crosses the Gobi Desert and reaches Shangtu, the capital of Kublai Khan's empire.

• Vincenzo Labella
• David Butler
• Giuliano Montaldo

• Leonard Nimoy
• Ian McShane
• F. Murray Abraham