The description of Malacca by Ma Huan in Ying Yai Sheng Lan Chio chu

On the south-east ( corrected - should be south-west) of the country is the great sea; on the north-west ( corrected- should be north-east) the sea-shore adjoins the mountains. All is sandy, saltish land. The climate is hot by day, cold by night. The fields are infertile and the crops are poor and the people seldom practice agriculture.

There is one large river whose water flow down past the front of the king's residence to enter the sea; over the river, the king has constructed a wooden bridge, on which are built more than twenty bridge-pavilions, and all the trading in every article takes place on this bridge.