Cathay known China under names similar to "Cathay", that country was known to the peoples of South-East Asia and India under names similar to "China" (cf. e.g. "Cina" in modern Malay). Meanwhile, in China itself, people usually referred to their nation state based on the name of the ruling dynasty, e.g. "Da Ming Guo" ("the kingdom of the Great Ming"), or as the "Middle Kingdom" ("Zhongguo" 中國); see also Names of China for details. When the Portuguese reached South-East Asia (Afonso de Albuquerque conquering Malacca in 1511) and the southern coast of China (Jorge Álvares reaching the Pearl River estuary in
Cathay Organisation in Singapore with the Cathay Cinema premiering Sir Alexander Korda's "The Four Feathers". Cathay was the country's first air-conditioned cinema i.e. Cathay Cinema and the first skyscraper, the tallest in Southeast Asia during that time. It was the first time patrons could watch movies air-conditioned and sitting in a comfortable armchair. It was also used as a landmark by pilots as a final approach before landing. Three years later, it showed its last show and was converted into a Red Cross casualty station. After the end of war in 1945, Cathay reopened and it was Singapore's first cinema to show