Travels Of Marco Polo: Ninety One: Ports of Zaitun and Timingui

When one departs from Fugui (Fuzhou) passes the river, and goes five days southeast, he finds cities and castles, where there is abundance of all things, woods, birds and beasts, with the tree which bears camphor. The people are idolaters, and subjects of Khan. At the end of five days a city called Zaitun (Quanzhou) which is a noble port, where all the ships of India arrive, and for one laden with pepper which comes from Alexandria to be sold throughout Christendom, there go to the city a hundred.  It is one of the two best ports in the world, and the most frequented by merchants and merchandise.  Know too, Khan draws a large revenue, because all the ships from India pay upon their several kinds of goods, for example, stones and pearls ten percent.  Ships take a freight ranging from thirty percent to fourty four percent. For small merchandise thirty percent; pepper forty four percent, lignum, aloes and bulky articles forty percent etc. For the merchants the freight and duty costs full half of the shipment.  There is a city called Timingui [1] where they make beautiful cups.  They are of porcelain and are not manufactured in other part of the world. For a Venetian grosso you get three elegant cups.  The people of Fengui have their own language.  We have not told you of the nine kingdoms of Manji (southern China) but only of three.  I cannot now elaborate on other kingdoms, because it would be too tedious.  Besides, I have to tell you of Indians, who are well worthy of being known. Their country contains many wonderful things found in no other part of the world. Marco remained so long in India, and saw much of its produce, merchandise and customs, that no man could tell them better.  Therefore, I will put them in writing, precisely as Messer Marco truly said them to me.

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1.Timingui: Modern day Chengdu, capital city of Chinese province of Sichuan.

End of Part One