Travels Of Marco Polo: Seventy Nine

When a man leaves Yangui and goes fifteen miles southeast, he perceives a certain city, named Cyngui,[*] which is not very extensive, but has great merchandise and much shipping.  The people are idolaters, use paper money, and are subject to the Khan.  That city stands up on a river, named Kiang, [1]which is the largest in the world; being in some places ten miles broad, and upwards a hundred days journey in length.  Through it the inhabitants have a lucrative trade, which yields a large revenue to the Khan.  An account of the many cities on it, ships navigating and the goods conveyed by means of it are more numerous and valuable than in all the rivers of Christendom and the adjacent seas beside.  I tell you I have seen at that city no fewer than 5000 ships sailing at once on its stream.  That river flows through sixteen provinces, and has more than two hundred towns on its banks.  The ships are covered and have only one mast.  Yet they are of heavy burden, and carry each from 4000 to 12000 cantars [2].  They have ropes composed of cane for drawing them through the water; those belonging to larger vessels are thick, and fifteen paces in length being cloven at the end, and bound together in such a way as to make a cord of 300 paces long.

____________________________________

1. River Kiang: Probably the Yangtze river also known as Chang Jiang, which is the longest river in Asia.

2. Cantar is an old unit of weight, equivalent to about 100 to 150 pounds.

* Cyngui: Most probably Zhenjiang, alternatively Chinkiang on the southern bank of Yangtze river.

End of the Section