During the Yuan Dynasty, foreign exchanges in economy and culture were frequent. The Yuan Dynasty and the Gaolu Empire did a lot of trading with each other. It also had frequent communication with Japan, which resulted in the prevailing of Buddahism and the custom of drinking tea. They also hired people from China to develop the printing industry in Japan.

Printing and Gunpowder

At the time, the industry of gunpowder and printing were well developed. There were already bronze cannons, which was a huge advancement in the history of war. Printing employed movable types by wooden blocks. At this type, Europe was still producing hand-written books.