Until the 15th century AD, the Chinese were great explorers. This period of exploration ended with the death of Emperor Yongle in 1424, after which the Ming Dynasty returned to its isolationist policy. One of the greatest of the Chinese explorers of this period was Zheng He. How big were his ships, compared to the famed Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus of the same period?
Answer: Columbus’ ships were around 22 metres in length. At 134 metres in length, Zheng He’s vessels were six times as long.
Source: History Year by Year published by Dorling Kindersley
