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Jia Dan Hainei Huayi tu (Map of Chinese &
Barbarian Lands within the four seas) (801)
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Taken from: Philip Snow: The Star Raft.
Zhang Jun-yan, �Relations between China and the Arabs in early times�
Journal of Oman Studies
This information is preserved in the Xin Tang Shu (New History of the Tang)
Famous prime mister and geographer of the Tang Dynasty.
The map is not longer extant. A lot of the information however got used in other maps. A lot of text was written in the margins of the map. There is a description of the sea route from Canton (Guangzhou) to Baghdad, via Singapore and the Malacca straits, the Nicobar islands and the Indian Ocean, Ceylon and India, and finally the Arabian sea and the Euphrates at which point the journey was completed by land.
He also wrote about a sailing route which could be taken to the Persian Gulf from a place called Sanlan in the extreme south-west of Arabia, twenty days voyage from the nearest settlements to the north.
As he gives 90 days for the journey from Canton to Arabia, this place "Sanlan" must be very remote and on the East African coast.
In the west of the maritime route from Canton to the Arab Country by the South end there is the San-lan country. If you travel northward and eastward, and pass several countries, spend about thirty-six or thirty-seven days on the way, you may arrive at Moxum (Suhar). Travelling from Moxum towards north-east and spending eleven days you might arrive at Wu-la (Obollah) at the outlet of the Euphrates river. Then you travel towards north-west for a thousand li by land, pass Mo-luo (Basra) you might arrive at Bang-da (Baghdad) the capital of the Caliph.