Wang Dayuan
In 1320, the Mongol Empire sent a trade mission to a place called "Long Ya Men" (or "Dragon's Teeth Gate"), which is believed to be Keppel Harbour at the southern part of the island. The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described "Long Ya Men" as one of the two distinct settlements in "Dan Ma Xi" (from Malay "Temasek"), the other being "Ban Zu" (from Malay "pancur"). "Ban Zu" is thought to be present day Fort Canning Hill, and recent excavations in Fort Canning found evidence indicating that Singapore was an important settlement in the 14th century. Wang mentioned that the natives of "Long Ya Men" (thought to be the "Orang Laut") and Chinese residents lived together in "Long Ya Men". Singapore is one of the oldest locations where a Chinese community is known to exist outside China, and the oldest corroborated by archaeological evidence.