malacca description by chinese explorer

Written accounts by the Chinese recorded that the city was surrounded by a palisade with 4 gates and watch towers. Inside the city wall was a 2nd fortress where money, godowns and provisions were housed. The hill on the south side was where the sultan and his court lived. The main mosque was also situated on the hill. A bridge connected the north and south side with a marketplace contained in a structure of 20 pavilions where commodities of all sorts were sold. North of the river, lived the merchants who were grouped into separate ethnic communities according to their countries of origin. Rich merchants had offices in the city but maintained residence outside the town walls which were staffed with slaves and servants. Beautifully manicured gardens and orchards separated these merchants from the man-on -the- street and to further enhance their position, they wore 'robes of honour'.