Zheng He's fleet traveled between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean seven times, from 122 degrees east longitude to 44 degrees east longitude, from 31 degrees north latitude to 7 degrees south latitude, across the equator, from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, a total of 78 degrees of longitude, 38 degrees of latitude, and a voyage of more than 100,000 miles.

They all pass through the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, and in addition to the countries surrounding the South China Sea, they also reach as far as Saudi Arabia on the east coast of the Red Sea and Malin on the east coast of Africa in Kenya.

Zheng He's fleet sailed far, there was a compass in the bow, a tail rudder in the stern, and navigation was across the ocean to draw the stars, a technique of ancient astronomical navigation, and there was also a needle map to determine the direction, which was a great navigation technology at that time, and it was also the reason why Zheng He's seven voyages were successful. Zheng He recorded what he saw and heard every time he sailed, and he measured and detailed the sea and land itineraries, and used the navigation charts to have the highest level of navigation guide functions at that time.

Zheng He was the leader of the early Ming Dynasty who sailed across oceans and continents and really went to sea. Zheng He's voyage started from the mouth of the Yangtze River in the East China Sea, first through the Taiwan Strait through the South China Sea, then through the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, and westward to the Arabian Sea on the west coast of the Indian Ocean. Zheng He visited more than 30 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Arabia and East Africa, which was an unprecedented feat in the history of world navigation and a milestone in the history of human transoceanic and transcontinental navigation.

In 1498, the ship of the Portuguese da Gama was led by an Indian and crossed the Indian Ocean to Guri on the west coast of India, marking the beginning of the history of Europeans detouring the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to the east to open up the rich Asian market. But trade in the business districts east of Malacca, the East Indies, the Indochina Peninsula, China and Japan remained firmly in the hands of the Chinese.

Zheng He sailed from east to west, starting from Liujiagang in Taicang and arriving in Guri on the west coast of India in 1405. Da Gama traveled from west to east, starting from Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and arriving in Guri in 1498. Comparing east and west, although the routes are different, they all arrive at the same destination on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Zheng He's treasure ship was nearly 100 years earlier than Da Gama's fast sail, which is a proud historical record in the history of east-west maritime traffic.

The Chinese compass is used in navigation, it is estimated that it began in the Northern Song Dynasty, when in the 11th century, the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties of Chinese sea ships used water compass, and after the Ming Dynasty, they gradually changed to use a dry compass. Navigation depends on the compass on the compass, and the route follows the direction pointed by the needle, so it is called the needle road.

In the Song Dynasty, the Chinese seafaring compass was introduced to Arabia by Arab navigators, and then to Europe, becoming a powerful tool for Europeans to reach the Americas to discover the New World, and to open up Asian and African colonies at the end of the 15th century, creating great geographical discoveries.

China has made three major contributions to world navigation, one is the invention of the tail rudder, which made the navigation of ships flexible and easy. The second is the invention of the navigation compass, so that sailing in the vast sea, there is a direction to recognize, and there is a way to return. The third is the invention of the watertight compartment, so that one compartment leaks water and will not affect the other compartment.

Zheng He is the founder of the world's maritime industry, the driving force behind the development of navigation technology, and the pioneer of the Maritime Silk Road. He went to the Western Ocean seven times for 28 years, and opened up as many as 42 navigation routes through the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, opened up and expanded the sea lanes between China and Southeast Asia, East Africa, Arabia, the Americas, Australia and other countries and regions, and made great contributions to the development of the world's maritime industry and the exchanges between the peoples of various countries. Zheng He's seven voyages to the West were the earliest, the largest number of people, the largest number of ships, the most advanced technology, and the widest range of activities in the history of world navigation, which was an unprecedented feat.

Zheng He is a national hero in the eyes of the people, as early as the third year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, he was ordered by Ming Chengzu to lead a huge voyage team between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, visiting more than 30 countries, and greatly deepening the friendly relations between China and Southeast Asia and Africa.

When Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, his ships were very distinctive, and it is worth mentioning, few people know that there are five kinds of ships that Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, each with its own characteristics. The first is the treasure ship, which was the largest ship in the world at that time, it is 44 zhang long, 18 zhang wide, and weighs 800 tons just by carrying a load, which is also very powerful in the high-tech world. After all, even the ship's iron tuo needed between two hundred and three hundred men to lift it. The treasure ship is as tall as a building, the tip of the ground is wide, and it can accommodate thousands of people, which shows that the treasure ship is worthy of its name. Among them, each ship of Zheng Hezao has four decks, full of soldiers, horses on the ground floor, cabins and living rooms on the high ground, gorgeous and comfortable.

The second is the horse boat, also known as the horse clipper, which is a large fast water war ship in the early Ming Dynasty, and also combines the role of transportation, and the main task is to carry a large number of horses and carry a large number of goods back and forth when Zheng He went to the Western Ocean. It is the same size as a medium-sized treasure ship, with eight masts, for the purpose of preparing for the expedition of the navy, specially for transporting incense silks from suburban temples, offerings, military supplies and waiting for dispatch, all of which are under the control of the Nanjing Military Department, and take turns to make arrangements. Therefore, in addition to maritime operations, its mission is mainly to transport various materials to and from the Western Ocean.

The third type is the grain ship, which needless to say, is specialized in transporting grain, so that the fleet has no worries when sailing. There are about 30 logistics supply ships, carrying food, fresh water and logistics supplies needed by the fleet. Among them, the larger grain ship is 20 zhang long, 128 zhang wide, and has seven masts, and the water ship is a creation in Zheng He's navigation. In ancient times, there was no fleet equipped with more than one boat, but only a bucket of fresh water in the boat. Zheng He's voyage is based on the fact that only sweet springs are rare in the sea, and spoonful water is not to benefit people, so be prepared to prevent long-term berth. Therefore, the special water vessel provides drinking water for about 30,000 crew members, which not only shows the size of Zheng He's fleet, but also shows the perfection of his equipment supply and the durability of his endurance.

The fourth is to sit on the ship, it is 24 zhang long, 9 zhang wide, the function is a large warship, the function is the warship is to sit, the curtain of the commander. Combat ships, which are warships carried by generals and officers, are 24 zhang long, 9 zhang 4 feet wide, and have six masts, and the small ones are 18 zhang long, 6 zhang and 8 feet wide, and have five masts. The main role is escort and naval warfare. The naval battle strategy of the Ming Dynasty was a thin battle for large ships, and the fast ships chased them, so the battle boat was conducive to close combat, the speed was fast, and it was also known as the fast boat. There are more than 100 warships and horse clippers, which shows the strong naval combat capability of Zheng He's fleet.

The fifth type is warships, which can be seen that sailing on the sea is not possible without certain weapons and equipment, and this kind of large warships have very strong combat effectiveness.

The armament of the ships in Zheng He's fleet included 10 large tributes, 40 large Buddha machines, 50 bowls, 600 spray cans, 100 beak guns, 1,000 cigarette cans, 1,000 ash cans, 5,000 crossbow arrows, 100 medicine crossbows, 4,000 jin of coarse gunpowder, 1,000 pounds of bird gunpowder, 10 bottles of crossbow powder, 3,000 jin of large and small lead bullets, 5,000 rockets, 5,000 fire bricks, 300 artillery, 100 hook sickles, 100 machetes, 200 nail guns, 1,000 javelins, 200 rattan cards, 3,000 iron arrows, one large sitting flag, one trumpet belt, 10 large mast flags, 50 square flags, 40 large gongs, 100 small gongs, and 10 large drumsThere were 40 small drums, 100 lanterns, 6,000 arquebuses, 5,000 iron quinoa, and all the utensils were the same for each ship.

China is the earliest country in the world to invent gunpowder artillery, and artillery crossbows have been used in actual combat in the Song and Yuan dynasties, so the above weapons and equipment have been common in the Ming Dynasty.

There is one ship for each warship, ten thieves, ten helmsmen, twenty lookers, ten recruits, ten shangdou, ten anchors, and fifty captains; there are ten guards for each captain, one sentry for every five ships, one battalion for every two posts, and one commander for every four battalions.

Zheng He's fleet in the Western Ocean was a powerful maritime mobile formation, with both military organization and navigation plans. The navy of the Ming Dynasty was the best in the world at that time, and no country's navy could match it.

Zheng He's fleet in the West can be said to be the largest and most complete fleet in the world at that time, and it was also the most powerful naval task force in the Middle Ages. Zheng He's fleet has more than 200 ships of all kinds, nearly 30,000 personnel and armed forces, and each time it goes to the Western Ocean for about two to three years, the largest treasure ship is 44 zhang 4 feet long, 18 zhang wide, with nine masts and 12 sails.

It is estimated that the displacement is about 10,000 tons or more, and the carrying capacity is about 7,000 tons, so the majesty and scale of Zheng He's fleet are not only unparalleled in the world at that time, but also unprecedented and unparalleled in the era of giant sailing ships in the history of world navigation.

Columbus's fleet, which discovered the New World more than half a century later than Zheng He, also consisted of only three small sailing ships, the flagship was about 90 feet long and 20 feet wide, with a load of 100 tons, and only 32 people, and the other two sailing ships had a load of 60 tons and 40 tons respectively, with a total crew of 52 people.

Vape da Gama's fleet to India consisted of four sailing ships, the largest of which was nearly twenty-five meters long and carried about one hundred and twenty tons, and the other three ships were one hundred and fifty tons, respectively, with a total crew of one hundred and sixty men. During his voyage around the world, Magellan sailed with a crew of 265 sailing ships divided into five sailing ships, two of which were 130 tons, two of 90 tons, and one of 60 tons. reach

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the world's giant warships, which represented the pride of the British Royal Navy and defeated the Dutch Armada, were the Prince, Charlie, Orc, London, etc., with a deadweight tonnage of only about 1,000 tons and a length of no more than 232 feet, all of which were three-masted warships. It was not until 1857 that the United States built the world's largest wooden passenger ship with iron bars at that time, with a length of 105 meters and a width of 15 meters, and the treasure ships of Zheng He's fleet were the miracle and pinnacle of the world's wooden sailing ships before the 19th century.