Zheng He

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The porcelain glaze is applied by hand, the final step before firing in the kilns.
Herbal medicines have always been high on the list of Chinese trade goods. Zheng he brought 180 doctors and pharpacologists ...
Zheng He may have passed nets like these on his way to the South China Sea.
The last rays of the day are reflected in oyster beds off Xiamen.
Aquaculture in China, here in Maluan Bay, was described by Marco Polo in the 13th century.
Women do the dirty work of harvesting the oysters.
At sunrise on the China Sea, off Meizhou Island, fishermen bring their catches to market.
The catch is so paltry that chopsticks are used to pick out the edible fish.
Zheng he recruited thousands from this area long the coasts of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujan to build and sail the ships of t...
The descendents of Zheng He's crews on Hainan Island clean their catch, working in much the same way as their ancestors did 6...
The descendents of Zheng He's crews on Hainan Island clean their catch, working in much the same way as their ancestors did 6...
These are the last of the wooden junks on Hainan Island, as China banned the use of wood as a building material for fishing b...
China's largest fishing fleet sails from Hainan. Zheng He commanded a fleet of 300 ships of varying sizes, with the largest m...
Zhu Di moved his capital from Nanjing 600 miles north to Beijing, at a huge cost.
The Forbidden City
In springtime, fishermen line the bank of the moat that surrounds the Forbidden City.
A Beijing Opera actress powders up before applying her make-up.
The actors and actresses of the Opera are responsible for their own make-up, which can take hours to apply.
With Zheng He's many stops in India, this Chinese art form may have influenced the development of the equally elaborate Katha...
Zhu Di vastly expanded the empire's canal system in order to bring supplies from the south of China to the newly built capita...
Watertowns like Tongli and Xitang have changed little since the 15th century Ming Dynasty.
Watertowns like Tongli and Xitang have changed little since the 15th century Ming Dynasty.
The Grand Canal extends from here to the capital of Beijing- a distance of almost 1000 miles (1600 km), the longest man-made ...
Sunrise in Tongli brings everyone to the cal for washing and collection water.
The Grand Canal, shown here in Suzhou, sees as much traffic as in Zheng He's day, as China once again experiences a building ...
The section of the Great Wall in Jinshanling, built by Ming Emperor Zhu Di is the largest single construction project in the ...
Though monumental in scale, the Great Wall, here at sunset at Jinshanling, did little to stop the Mongols from treatening China.
The Ming Wall was longer, higher, wider and better fortified than any previous wall built before this dynasty.
Pony round-up, Mongolian-style. It was the looming threat of the Mongols that changed Ming China's focus from the sea and Zhe...
Brocade-clad cowboys wrangler their ponies for annual inoculations. The Mongolian horse has always been famed for its sturdin...
Brocade-clad cowboys wrangler their ponies for annual inoculations. The Mongolian horse has always been famed for its sturdin...
The Mongols, with their swift ponies, were the most ferocious army in the 15th Century. After Zhu Dhi took sick and died whil...
A portrait of Genghis Khan hangs in every Mongolian yurt, the circular, domed tents used as housing by these nomadic peoples.
The Hakka, Southeast Asia's most prominent imigrant group, began emigrating from China soon after Zheng He's last voyage. The...
The Hakka, Southeast Asia's most prominent imigrant group, began emigrating from China soon after Zheng He's last voyage. The...
Perhaps Zheng He's greatest legacy is the Diaspora, the dispersal of Chinese culture and people throughout the world that con...
The distinctive round towers of the Hakka were once mistaken by American satellites for missile silos.
On certain occasions it is tradition for Indonesian's to wear detailed make-up.
Wtih seasonal winds of the northern monsoon blowing te Treasure Fleet south, Vietnam was always Zheng He's first landfall. He...
Wat Si Chom, Sukhothai, Thailand: the chronicles of the journey written by Ma Huan mention the Thai devotion to Buddha and la...
Tin miners at Bangka, Indonesia, extract the heavy metal that falls to the bottom of the sluice. The majority of the resident...
Another precious Indonesian commodity, sulfur, is still mined from active volcanic vents in Ijen Volcano, East Java, Indonesia.
The fishing fleet at Nha Trang harbor.
Large catches can still be had off the beaches south of Halong Bay.
Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. People are granted the privilage of boiling seawater to make salt.
Traders meet at the confluence of five canals at Phung Hiep.
Traders meet at the confluence of five canals at Phung Hiep.
A young son trusts his father will not tip the boat at the floating market in Phung Hiep.
Experienced sampan scullers use their feet as well as their hands.
Coir fiber, used to make ropes and rugs, is one of the many uses the Indians have found for the coconut.