Zheng He was an amazing man. He was born in 1371. Eleven years later, he was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him. Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends. In 1403 Zhu Di became the emperor of China and he asked Zheng He to join his government.
The emperor wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power. He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven sea trips to different parts of the world. He certainly travelled to India, Africa and the Middle East. A few people think his ships have even reached South America and Australia.
Each trip lasted between two and four years and it is believed that he sailed more than 50,000 kilometres during the years of his travels. Zheng He led a fleet with about 28,000 men and over 300 ships, such as boats for food, water and even soldiers' horses.
On these trips he brought with him many Chinese goods like silk and medicine to give to foreign kings or to sell for local goods. He returned from each trip with boats which were filled with expensive things such as gold and treasure, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe.
It is a pity that we may never learn everything about Zheng He's travels. The Columbus of the East, Zheng He, died in 1433. After that, the new emperor had these trips stopped and he burned almost all the books about Zheng He's travels, because he believed the trips were unlucky and too expensive. It is only in the last 50 years that historians have begun to carefully study the adventures of great Zheng He.
