China, or rather Tartary, the capital of which was Albracca,
according to Orlando Furioso. It was called Khita'i by the
Tartars, and China was first entered by Europeans in the Middle
Ages from the side of Tartary. “Better fifty years of Europe
than a cycle of Cathay.” Tennyson: Locksley Hall. Source:
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on
Cathay' from Infoplease: