The 7 Magnificent Voyages of the Ming Treasure Fleet

One of the greatest maritime achievements in medieval history took place in the Far East

Unknown to most people in the west, the Chinese have been competent shipbuilders for centuries. Their famous junks, derided for their name but not their design, have been sailing the waters of the far east far longer than European ships have sailed the Atlantic.

As early as the third century AD, Chinese shipbuilders had began to design and create triple masted ships, something not to be seen in Europe for almost a millennium longer. By the eight century AD the Chinese were building ships over 200 feet in length capable of holding half a thousand men.

With the addition of materials and knowledge from Arab and Persian traders from the Middle East, by the eleventh century Chinese ships were large, luxurious and capable of sailing into the prevailing winds. They were known to traders and explorers alike as the definitive way to sail around the Far East and the Indian subcontinent.

Marco Polo wrote in his account of his time in China:

They have one floor, which with us is called a deck, one for each, and on this deck there are commonly in all the…