The expeditions were astonishing feats of engineering and navigation. Setting sail decades before Christopher Columbus or Vasco da Gama, Zheng He spent years crossing the oceans at the head of a vast fleet of 200 ships. Some of the vessels measured up to 70 meters long — three times the size of Columbus’ ships.
For many, Zheng deserves to rank among history’s greatest explorers. Yet, much about the voyages — and Zheng himself — remains shrouded in mystery. He barely features in the official records left by China’s Ming dynasty (1368–1644), with court historians dismissing his expeditions as impressive, but ruinously expensive. Even the place and date of Zheng’s death are unknown.