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 Dragon Cathay Dragon Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd (Chinese: 港龍航空有限公司), operating brand as Cathay Dragon (Chinese: 國泰港龍航空) and previously as Dragonair, is a Hong Kong-based international regional airline, with its corporate headquarters, Cathay Dragon House, and main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. As of 30 October 2013, the airline operates a scheduled passenger network to 47 destinations in 14 countries and territories across Asia. Additionally, the airline has three codeshares on routes served by partner airlines. It has an all Airbus fleet of 48 aircraft, consisting of A320s, A321s and A330s. Cathay Dragon is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong