 In 1320, the Mongol Empire sent a trade mission to a place called Long Ya Men (or Dragon's Tooth Strait), which is believed to be Keppel Harbour, at the southern part of the island. The Chinese traveler Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described a small settlement called Dan Ma Xi (淡马锡, from Malay Tamasik) with Malay and Chinese residents. The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, also referred to a settlement on the island called Temasek (Sea Town). Recent excavations in Fort Canning found evidence indicating that Singapore was an important port in the 14th century. Singapore is the oldest location where a Chinese community is known to exist outside China, as corroborated by both historical records and archaeological evidence.
