ADMIRAL ZEN HE

This man sailed from China in the early 1400's to show China's strength and power. Ch'eng Tsu, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave him a huge fleet of junks to sail with.Of these 255 ships, 62 of those enormous sized junks were laden with treasure. And 28,000 men to accompanied him. He sailed out of Nanking harbor. By 1433 he had gone on seven voyages to South Asia, India, Persian Gulf and Southeast Africa. He gave away many gifts and brought back foreign diplomats and exotic animals. His ships reached the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in 1415, seventy years before the Europeans.

Draw and label a junk. Add it to your ship page.

Label all the places he went on a map. Draw his travels if you can.

Make a floating compass. Add the approximate date of this to your timeline (1000 AD) One of the things China was well known for was its silk. They kept the process hidden for many years.

Mark the Silk Road on your map and tell about it.

Research silkworms. Make a poster showing how silk is produced.

Asbestos was another thing Marco Polo saw that the Chinese knew about. Write a report on asbestos.

Learn how to make some of the Chinese letters.