Yangzhou 揚州

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"And as I travelled upon this river Talay [the Yangzi river], I passed many cities and towns, and I came to a certain city called Iamzai [Yangzhou], at which our minor friars have a house. And here also be three churches of the Nestorians. This is a noble city, and hath good forty-eight to fifty-eight tumans of fire-places, every tuman being ten thousand. In this city are to be had in great abundance all kinds of things on which Christian people live. And the lord of this city hath from salt alone a revenue of five hundred tumans of balis; and a balis being worth a florin and a half, thus a tuman maketh fifteen thousand florins. But as a grace to this people the said lord made a remission to them of two hundred tumans, lest distress should be created.

"There is a custom in this city that if any one desire to give a great dinner or entertainment to his friends he goes to one of the hostels which are established for this very purpose, and saith to the host thereof: "Make me a dinner for such a number of my friends, and I propose to expend such and such a sum upon it." Then the host does exactly as ordered, and the guests are better served than they would have been in the entertainer's own house.

"This city hath also a vast amount of shipping."

- Henry Yule, trans., The Travels of Odoric of Pordenone,
Chapter 34, pp. 209-211.