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 Pacific has become a hit with passengers, making Cathay Pacific one of the industry leaders in offering mobile services to users of smart phones. Cathay Pacific is also now following a trend among many airlines to improve its brand image to customers and shareholders with social media, and is ranked fourth worldwide. The airline now uses a range of social media tools including Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube and blogging to share ideas with customers. In addition, it has launched a virtual tour to enable passengers to experience Cathay Pacific's new cabins and services without having to step aboard the aircraft. On