A days journey from Quinsai to the south-east, we pass the whole way through houses, villages, fine gardens, and abundant cultivation, and then come to a fine city called Tapin-zu. Three days hence is Uguiu, and two days farther, we still ride past castles, cities, and well cultivated fields, so near adjoining, that the whole seems, to travellers, like one continued city; in this district are great canes, fifteen paces long, and four palms thick. Two days farther is the large and handsome city of Congui, and travelling thence for four days, through places well filled with industrious people, having plenty of beeves, buffaloes, goats, and swine, but no sheep, we come to the city of Zengian, which is built on a hill in the middle of a river, which, after encompassing it, divides into two branches, one of which runs to the south-east and the other to the north-west. Three days journey thence, through a most pleasant country, exceedingly well inhabited, we come to the large city of Gieza, which is the last in the kingdom of Quinsai, After this we enter into another province of the kingdom of Mangi called Concha, the principal city of which is Fugiu, by which you travel six days journey south-east, through hills and dales, always finding inhabited places, and plenty of beasts, fowls, and game, and some strong lions are found in the mountains and forests487. Ginger, galingal, and other spices, grow here in great plenty, and there is an herb, of which the fruit has the same colour, smell, and effect with saffron, which it is not, and is much used in their meats488, The inhabitants are idolaters, and subjects of the great khan, and eat mans flesh, if the person has not died of disease, even considering it as better flavoured than any other. When they go into the fields, they shave to the ears, and paint their faces with azure. All their soldiers serve on foot, except the captains, who are on horseback, and their arms are swords and lances. They are very cruel, and when they kill an enemy, they immediately drink his blood, and afterwards eat his flesh.

After six days journey is Quelinfu, a great city with three bridges, each of which is eight paces broad, and above an hundred paces long. The men are great merchants and manufacturers, and the women are fair and delicately shaped. The country produces plenty of ginger and galingal, and great abundance of silk and cotton. I was told, but saw them not, that they have hens without feathers, hairy like cats, which yet lay eggs, and are good to eat489. In this part of the country there are many lions, which make the ways very dangerous. After three days journey, we arrive in a populous country inhabited by idolaters, who make great quantities of silk stuffs. The chief city is Unguem, near which abundance of sugar is produced, and sent from thence to Cambalu. Before the reduction of this country by the great Khan, the inhabitants of this country could only manufacture a bad kind of sugar, by boiling down the juice of the cane into a black paste; but certain inhabitants from Babylonia, taught them refine it by means of the ashes of a certain tree490. Fifteen miles farther is the city of Cangiu, still in the province of Concha, and here the Khan has always an army in readiness for keeping the country under subjection. Through this city there runs a river of a mile broad, with handsome buildings on both sides, and the river is constantly covered with vessels carrying sugar and other goods. This river disembogues itself at the distance of five days journey south-east from Cangiu, into the sea at Zaitum all the country between being extremely pleasant, and abounding in trees and shrubs of camphor. Zaitum is a famous port, and much frequented by ships with rich cargoes from India, for the supply of Mangi and Kathay, and from this port the productions of these regions are dispersed all over India. At this port such quantities of pepper are imported, that what comes through Alexandria into our western world is not to be compared to it, being hardly an hundredth part. The concourse of merchants to this famous emporium is incredible, as it is one of the most commodious ports in the whole world, and is exceedingly productive in revenue to the great Khan, who receives ten in the hundred of all merchandize. The merchants pay likewise so high for freights, that not above a half of their cargoes remains to themselves for sale, and yet of that moiety they make immense profits. The inhabitants of Zaitum are idolaters, and much given to pleasure, and in it there are many artizans employed in embroidery and arras-work491.

This river is large, wide, and swift, one arm of it reaching to Quinsai, and the other to Zaitum492, and at the parting of these branches, the city of Tringui is situated, where porcelain dishes are made493. I was told of a certain earth which is cast up into conical heaps, and left exposed to the weather for thirty or forty years without stirring; after which, refined by time, it is made into dishes, which are painted and baked in furnaces; and so cheap is this manufacture, that eight of these dishes may be bought for one Venetian groat494. From this province of Concha, the great Khan derives nearly as great a revenue as he does from Quinsai. In these two provinces I travelled, but in none of die other provinces of Mangi; in all of which one language Is used, with considerable variety in dialect, and but one kind of writing.

I shall now leave the country of Mangi, and proceed to discourse of India the greater, the middle, and lesser; in which I have been, both in the service of the great khan, and also on our return home along with the queen, who was sent from Kathay to Argon. The ships which are built in the kingdom of Mangi are made of fir, having only one deck, on which are built twenty cabins, more or less, according to their size, each for one merchant. They have each a good rudder, and four masts, with four sails, which they raise or let down at pleasure, but some have only two masts. Some of the largest ships have thirteen divisions in the inside, made of boards let into each other, so that if, by the blow of a whale, or by touching on a rock, water should get into one of these divisions, it can go no farther, and the leak being found, is soon stopped. They are all built double, or have two courses of boards, one within the other, both of which are well caulked with oakum, and nailed with iron; but they are not pitched, as they have no pitch in Mangi, instead of which they are payed all over with the oil of a certain tree, mixed up with lime and chopped hemp which binds faster than pitch or lime. The largest of these ships have three hundred marines, others two hundred, or an hundred and fifty, according to their size; and they carry from five to six thousand bags of pepper. In ancient times they used to build larger ships than now; but owing to the great numbers of islands and shoals in some places of these seas, they now build them less495. Besides their sails, they use oars. occasionally to propel these ships, four men being employed to each oar. The larger ships are usually attended by two or three of a smaller size, able to carry a thousand bags of pepper, and having sixty mariners in each and these smaller ships are sometimes employed to tow the greater vessels. Each of the larger ships hare ten small boats for fishing and other services, which are fastened aloft on their sides, and let down when wanted for use. After having been employed for a year, these ships are sheathed all over, so that they then have three courses of boards: and they proceed in this manner till they sometimes hare six courses, alter which they are broken up.