Yuan Overseas Trade in the 1320s

Timeline

1. 1321–1325Quanzhou · FujianIn the early 1320s the Maritime Trade Offices at Quanzhou, Guangzhou and elsewhere inspected cargo, collected tariffs, and issued licenses; Arab, Persian, and Southeast Asian ships called frequently, giving the ports an international character with merchants of many religions and ethnicities.
2. 1322–1328Guangzhou · GuangdongIn the 1320s Chinese and foreign merchant fleets sailed south from Quanzhou and Guangzhou to Champa, Java, India's west coast, and even the Persian Gulf, importing spices, ivory, and gems and exporting silk, porcelain, and copper coins; the Maritime Silk Road remained open.
3. 1324Venice · ItalyIn 1324 the Venetian merchant Marco Polo, who had traveled the Yuan realm and described the wealth of the East, died; though his account was written in an earlier generation, Eurasian overland and maritime routes in the 1320s remained connected through the Mongol khanates and the Yuan port system.
4. 1326–1330Quanzhou · FujianBy the late 1320s Quanzhou still had Islamic buildings such as the Qingjing Mosque and diverse religious communities; as a cargo distribution hub the port linked Jiangnan handicraft production areas with overseas consumer markets, reflecting the continuity of Yuan maritime trade.