Yuan Maritime Trade Ships

Timeline

1. 1279–1320Maritime Trade Offices of Quanzhou and Guangzhou · FujianAfter conquering the Southern Song, the Yuan set up Maritime Trade Superintendencies at Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Qingyuan, and other ports; ships needed official licenses to sail, carrying porcelain, silk, and other goods as far as Champa, Java, India, and East Africa, with Quanzhou becoming one of the world's largest ports.
2. 1331–1340Southeastern Chinese coastal ports · Southeast CoastIn the 1330s, maritime trade ships remained active on South China Sea and Indian Ocean routes; Arab and Persian merchants often traveled on Yuan ships, and the court enriched the treasury through customs duties; the countries recorded in Wang Dayuan's Daoyi Zhilüe corroborate the voyages of merchant ships of this period.