In Tartary and in the Oriental Asia, through the power of those great princes, are far greater cities than in any parts else in the world. The Tartars have at this day two great empires, whereof the one is of the Mongolian Tartars, the other of the Cathayans. The Mongolian Tartars have in our time incredibly enlarged their dominion, for Mahommed their prince, not contented with his ancient confines, subdued not many years since, in a matter, all that ever lieth between Ganges and Indus.
The chief city of Mogora is Samarkand, which was incredibly enriched by the great Tamburlane with the spoils of all Asia, where like an horrible tempest or deadly raging flood he threw down to the ground the most ancient and worthiest cities, and carried from thence their wealth and riches. And to speak of none other, he only took from Damascus eight thousand camels laden with rich spoils and choicest movable goods. This city hath been of such greatness and power that in some ancient reports we read it made out forty thousand horse. But at this day it is not of such magnificency and greatness, through the dominion of the empire. For as after the death of the great Tamburlane it was suddenly divided into many parts by his four sons, so is it likewise in our time divided amongst the sons of Mahommed, who hath last of all subdued Cambay.
And forasmuch as I have made mention of Cambay I must tell you there are in that kingdom two memorable cities: the one is Cambay and the other is called Chitor. Cambay is of such greatness that it hath gotten the name of a province. Some write that it doth contain one hundred and fifty thousand houses; to the which allow, as commonly the matter is, to every house five persons and it will then come to little less than eight hundred thousand inhabitants. But some make it to be much less. Howbeit, in any sort howsoever it is a most famous city, the chiefest of a most rich kingdom, and the seat of a most mighty king, that brought to the enterprise against Mahommed King of the Mongols five hundred thousand footmen and a hundred and fifty thousand horsemen, whereof thirty thousand were armed after the matter of our men-at-arms. Chitor is twelve miles about, and is a city so magnificent of buildings, so beautiful for goodly streets and so full of delights and pleasures that few other cities do come near it, and it is for that cause called by the people that inhabit there, the Shadow of the Heavens. It hath been in our time the city of residency of the Queen Crementina, who, because she rebelled from the said king of Cambay, was with main force deprived thereof in the year 1536.
The emperor of the Cathayan Tartars (commonly called the Great Cham) deriveth himself from the great Genghis, who was the first that three years agone came out of Scythia Asiatica with a valiant expedition and power of arms, and made the name of the Tartars famous. For he subdued China and made a great part of India tributary unto him; he wasted Persia, and made Asia to tremble. The successors of this great prince made their residence in the city of Cambaluc, a city no less magnificent than great, for it is said it is in compass twenty-eight miles, besides the suburbs, and that it is of such traffic and commerce as besides other sorts of merchandise there are every year brought into it very near a thousand carts, all loaden with silk that come from China. Whereupon a man may guess both the greatness of the trades, the wealth of the merchandise, the variety of the artificers and arts, the multitude of people, the pomp, the magnificence, the pleasure and the bravery of the inhabitants thereof.
But let us now come to China. There is not in all the world a kingdom (I speak of united and entire kingdoms) that is either greater, or more populous, or more rich, or more abounding in all good things, or that hath more ages lasted and endured than that famous and renowned kingdom of China. Hereof it grows that the cities wherein their kings have made their residence have ever been the greatest that have been in the world. And those are Suntien, Anchin and Panchin. Suntien (by so much as I can learn out of the undoubted testimonies of other men) is the most ancient and the chiefest and the principallest of a certain province which is called Kinsay, by which name they commonly call the same city.* It is seated as it were in the extremest parts almost of the east, in a mighty great lake that is drawn out of the four princely rivers that fall there into it, whereof the greatest is called Pulisanghin. The lake is full of little islands which, for the gallantness of the site, the freshness of the air and sweetness of the gardens are very delightful without measure. His banks are tapestried with verdure, mantled with trees, watered with clear running brooks and many springs, and adorned with magnificent and stately palaces. This lake in his greatest breadth is four leagues wide at the mouth of the river twenty-eight miles, or thereabout. In circuit it is an hundred miles about, with large passages both by water and by land. The streets thereof are all of them paved gallantly with stone, and beautified with very fair benches or seats to sit upon. The chattels of most account are haply fifteen, with bridges over them so stately to behold that ships under all their sails pass under them. The greatest of these channels cutteth through the midst, as it were, of the city and is a mile wide, a little more or less, with fourscore bridges upon it; a sight, no question, that doth exceed all other.
