The Portuguese have a small city named Macao on an island near the coast of China, in which the church and houses are built of wood. This is a bishopric, but the customs belong to the king of China, and are payable at the city of Canton, two days journey and a half from Macao, and a place of great importance. The people of China are heathens, and are so fearful and jealous that they are unwilling to permit any strangers to enter their country. Hence when the Portuguese go there to pay their customs and to buy goods, they are not allowed to lodge within the city, but are sent out to the suburbs. This country of China, which adjoins to great Tartary, is of vast size and importance, as may be judged by the rich and precious merchandise which comes from thence, than which I believe there are none better or more abundant in quantity in all the world besides. In the first place it affords great quantities of gold, which is carried thence to the Indies made into small plates _like little ships_, and in value 23 _carats_ each[158]; large quantities of fine silk, with damasks and taffetas; large quantities of musk and of _occam_[159] in bars, quicksilver, cinabar, camphor, porcelain in vessels of divers sorts, painted cloth, and squares, and the drug called Chinaroot. Every year two or three large ships go from China to India laden with these rich and precious commodities. Rhubarb goes from thence over land by way of Persia, as there is a caravan every year from Persia to China, which takes six months to go there and as long to return. This caravan arrives at a place called _Lanchin_, where the king and his court reside. I conversed with a Persian who had been three years in that city of _Lanchin_, and told me that it was a city of great size and wealth. [Footnote 158: Perhaps the author may have expressed _of 23 carats fine_.--E.] [Footnote 159: Perhaps the mixed metal called tutenag may be here meant.--E.] The voyages which are under the jurisdiction of the captain of Malacca are the following. Every year he sends a small ship to Timor to load white sandal wood, the best being to be had in that island. He also sends another small ship yearly to Cochin-China for aloes wood, which is only to be procured in that country, which is on the continent adjoining to China. I could never learn in what manner that wood grows, as the people of Cochin-China will not allow the Portuguese to go into the land except for wood and water, bringing provisions and merchandise and all other things they want to their ships in small barks, so that a market is held daily on the deck of the ship till she is laden. Another ship goes yearly from Malacca for Siam to lade _Verzino_[160]. All these voyages belong exclusively to the captain of Malacca, and when he is not disposed to make them on his own account he sells them to others. [Footnote 160: From another part of this voyage it appears that this is some species of seed from which oil was expressed.--E.] SECTION XV.