The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake

An ancient Chinese geographic masterpiece, the travel Diaries of Xu Xiake was written by Xu Hongzu (1586-1641) during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Xu Hongzu, also known as Xu Xiake, recorded his travels and explorations from 1613 to 1639 in the form of a diary. The book is a literary masterpiece, a comprehensive travel encyclopedia, and an important work of ancient geographical science.

The book provides detailed records of the origins of mountains and rivers, the terrain and landforms, and flora, fauna, and minerals. It opened up a new path for observing and describing nature. A representative work of ancient Chinese geography, it focuses on field observations and explores the causes of natural geographic changes. It played an important role in the development of ancient Chinese geography and remains influential to this day. In addition, the book also includes detailed records of local trade, customs, towns and villages, ethnic relations, and folk religions. Expressed in beautiful language and covering a wide range of topics, the book has significant reference value for the study of Ming and Qing (1368-1911) history.

《徐霞客游記》

中國古代地理學名著《徐霞客游記》由明代徐弘祖（1586—1641） 著。徐弘祖，字振之，號霞客。《徐霞客游記》用日記體記載了作者自1613年至1639年間的旅行考察，是一部文學性強、內容豐富的旅游百科全書，更是一部重要的古代地理科學文獻。

《徐霞客游記》詳細記載了山川源流、地形地貌、動植礦物等內容，開啟了中國地理學界系統觀察自然、描寫自然的新方向，是中國古代地理學面向實地考察，探索自然地理變化成因的代表作品，對中國古代地理學的科學化、系統化發展起到了重要作用，其影響至今尚存。《徐霞客游記》還詳細記錄了游歷當地經濟貿易、民風習俗、城鎮村寨、民族關系、民間宗教等方面內容，文辭優美、包羅萬象，對研究明清歷史具有重要參考價值。