Cathay as "Cathay" (in a number of spelling variants) as well. The name occurs in the writings of Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (c. 1180–1252) (as "Kitaia"), William of Rubruck (c. 1220–c. 1293) (as "Cataya" or "Cathaia"). Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, ibn Battuta, Marco Polo all were referring to Northern China as Cathay, while Southern China, ruled by the Song dynasty, was "Mangi", "Manzi", "Chin", or "Sin". The word "Manzi" (蠻子) or "Mangi" is a derogatory term in Chinese meaning "barbarians of the south" ("Man" was used to describe unsinicised Southern China in its earlier periods), and would therefore not have been used
Cathay Building Cathay Building The Cathay Building () was opened in 1939 by Dato Loke Wan Tho as the headquarters for the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation. Located at 2 Handy Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore, the building was most known for its air-conditioned theatre known as the Cathay Cinema, then a technological marvel and the first to be built in Singapore. Cathay Building was the first skyscraper in Singapore and tallest building in Southeast Asia at that time. The supposed 16 storey (11 storey upon completion) Cathay Building was designed by British architect Frank W Brewer. The Cathay Building