When the Venetian explorer Marco Polo traveled along the Silk Road, he left behind a wealth of knowledge about the West and his famous travelogue Il Milione. Fast forward to 2015, when Marco Bellei came to China from Italy and decided to share his expertise of opera and take roots here in Beijing. He took on a job as Professor of Opera at the Central Conservatory of Music. For him, coaching China's top music talent is not just a job, but a path to understanding more about his second home.