Cathay that now they "were" living in the Great Cathay. This all made them quite convinced that Cathay is indeed China. China-based Jesuits promptly informed their colleagues in Goa (Portuguese India) and Europe about their discovery of the Cathay-China identity. This was stated e.g. in a 1602 letter of Ricci's comrade Diego de Pantoja, which was published in Europe along with other Jesuits' letters in 1605. The Jesuits in India, however, were not convinced, because, according to their informants (merchants who visited the Mughal capitals Agra and Lahore), Cathay – a country that could be reached via Kashgar – had a
Cathay Building was converted back to a cinema and a hotel. The cinema was the first to show American and British films in Singapore. A new air-conditioning plant was installed in the building in 1948. The colonial government vacated the building to be returned to the Cathay Organisation. The Cathay Restaurant was officially reopened on 1 May 1948 under the management of Cathay Restaurant Ltd. In 9 January 1954, the building reopened as Cathay Hotel with 60 rooms and subsequently expanded to 170 rooms. It had a restaurant, nightclub, swimming pool and shopping arcade. Cathay Hotel was closed on 30 December 1970,