Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.36

v2.c13.36

Another factor that enabled the development of maritime communications in this period was advances in Chinese shipbuilding and navigational techniques, particularly from the 12^th century CE. These permitted Chinese merchants for the first time to take to the ocean in their own ships and to play a major role in the carrying trade between China and South Asia and areas further west. Marco Polo, in the late 13^th century CE, described the Chinese oceangoing ships in detail, noting that they were capable of carrying loads of nearly 1,900 ton.