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, North Dakota Cathay, North Dakota Cathay is a city in Wells County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 43 at the 2010 census. Cathay was founded in 1893. Cathay had its start by the building of the railroad through that territory. Cathay is located at (47.553931, -99.411403). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land. As of the census of 2010, there were 43 people, 19 households, and 12 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 29 housing units at an average density of .