Wang Dayuan

Timeline

1. 1330–1334Quanzhou · Fujian ProvinceIn 1330 he boarded a merchant ship from Quanzhou for his first overseas voyage, traveling through the South China Sea and Indian Ocean to places such as Sri Lanka, returning home in 1334, accumulating first-hand knowledge of overseas geography and trade.
2. 1337–1339South China Sea and Southeast Asian ports · Southeast AsiaIn 1337 he again sailed from Quanzhou, visiting more ports across the South China Sea, the Malay Archipelago, India, and the East African coast, returning home in 1339, his range of experience extending to nearly all the western sea routes reachable by merchant ships at the time.
3. 1349–1350Quanzhou / Nanchang · Jiangxi ProvinceIn the winter of 1349, passing through Quanzhou, he compiled the records of both voyages into 'A Survey of the Barbarian Coastlands,' appended to the 'Continuation of the Qingyuan Gazetteer' edited by Wu Jian; in the spring of 1350 he returned to Nanchang and published it separately as 'A Survey of the Barbarian Coastlands,' recording first-hand observations of 99 countries, one of the most detailed overseas gazetteers of the Yuan dynasty.