Kedah, lying half-way between China and the Middle-east, was an important entréport in the “Maritime Silk-route”. The foundations of ancient stupas have been uncovered in Sungai Mas. The famous Chinese traveler-monk, Yi Jing, stopped over there on his sea voyage to Nalanda, India in 671 CE. Kedah later became a vassal of Srivijaya from the 7th to 11th Centuries CE. The Maharajas of Srivijaya were Buddhists, and they were responsible for building many of the monuments in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Java, including the famous Candi Borobudur (in Central Java).