Why do some scholars question whether Marco Polo traveled to China?

Some scholars have questioned whether Marco Polo actually traveled to China, citing several notable omissions and discrepancies in his account, Il milione.1

Critics point to the following reasons for their skepticism:
* Omissions: Polo failed to mention prominent features of Chinese life and geography, such as the Great Wall of China, the use of tea, and the ideographic writing system.1
* Lack of Records: Contemporary Chinese records contain no trace of his presence.1
* Textual Issues: The original manuscript of his work does not exist, and the many surviving versions were heavily edited, translated, and adapted by scribes, leading to significant uncertainty regarding the authenticity of the content.2

However, these arguments are countered by the complexity of medieval travel and the nature of his book, which was not intended as a personal biography but as a didactic work. Furthermore, the lack of records may be due to the use of different names for foreigners in the Mongol court, a common practice for Europeans in Asia at the time.12