In the capital of the Ming Empire, Peking, carts from Mongolia, Manchuria, Persia and Arabic countries were fully packed with Chinese goods to carry back to the countries from which the tributaries had come. Goods were stacked as high as thirty feet, including great quantities of porcelain loaded on dozens of carts. Each piece of porcelain for the long journey was filled with soil and beans. Then the pieces of porcelain were tied together with string. They were carefully placed in damp conditions and sprayed with water, until the beans grew and their roots spread around the porcelain to maintain the tight packing. Porcelain sent in this way to inner Asia was sold at ten times its original price.2