Zheng He's Treasure Voyages: Nanjing to East Africa

The Yongle Emperor ordered the fleet built in 1403, and by the autumn of 1405 it had assembled at Nanjing, ready to leave. The yard where the ships are believed to have been built was excavated in 2003-2004 in the northwest of the city. Three long basins survive, each with wooden structures inside; the largest is 421 metres long. Beside the emperor's order, the basins are the surviving physical trace of the fleet.

On Java, tradition says Zheng He found a cave in a rocky hillside and used it for prayer. His deputy Wang Jing and a few crewmen are said to have stayed behind. The temple that grew here, Sam Poo Kong, was reportedly destroyed by a landslide in 1704. The story is local tradition; even the year of the landing is disputed.

Location precision: The visit and cave are temple tradition, not part of the documented record; the pin marks the temple, not a known landing.

Malacca was a regular stop on the way west, beginning with the first voyage. At the foot of Bukit China, beside the Poh San Teng temple, lie the seven wells said to have been dug by the fleet's men; only three remain, said never to have run dry. The hill was reportedly chosen as the expedition's base. Today it is a Chinese graveyard with over 12,000 graves, some from the Ming dynasty. The legendary Hang Li Po story is local tradition.

Location precision: Tradition ties the hill and wells to the fleet; the exact camp and the dating of the wells are not documented.

Visitor guidance: Bukit China is a public hill beside the town; the wells are at its foot.

In early 1911 workmen laying water mains near Cripps Road in northern Galle lifted a slab used as a culvert cover, face down. It was a stele in Chinese, Tamil and Persian, dated 15 February 1409, listing offerings that included 1,000 pieces of gold and 5,000 of silver. The stone is now kept in the National Museum of Colombo, not in Galle.

Location precision: The stone was found in northern Galle, but the exact spot is not marked; the pin marks the town and the slab is now in Colombo.

For the first voyages Calicut was the westernmost goal. Ma Huan, who sailed with the fleet, praised it as a great emporium of trade frequented by merchants from around the world, and noted how its merchants counted using fingers and toes. Some accounts say Zheng He died here, probably in 1433, during or just after the seventh voyage; others have him back in Nanjing until 1435.

Location precision: Chinese ships anchored off the Malabar coast; the pin marks the modern city centre of Kozhikode.

The fourth voyage went beyond Calicut for the first time and reached Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. On the seventh voyage it was again the farthest west of the destinations recorded in the Xia Xiyang; the fleet left Hormuz on 9 March 1433 and reached Calicut on 31 March. The ruler had moved from the mainland town to the island around 1300.

Location precision: The fleet's anchorage is not located; the pin marks Hormuz Island, while the older town lay on the mainland.

On the fifth voyage the fleet went down the coast of Africa, calling at Mogadishu, Brava and Malindi. Malindi's ruler sent an envoy with a giraffe as a present for China. The fleet returned on 8 August 1419, and the ambassadors it carried brought tribute of lions, leopards, ostriches, zebras and giraffes.

Location precision: The fleet's anchorage in Malindi is not documented; the pin marks the town.

Zheng He's death is uncertain. One theory is that he died on the seventh voyage in 1433, probably at Calicut, and was buried at sea; another that he stayed on as the defender of Nanjing and died in 1435. A tomb stands on the southern slope of Cattle Head Hill, but it is a cenotaph believed to contain only his clothes and headgear. It was rebuilt in the Muslim style in 1985.

Visitor guidance: A small museum stands next to the tomb.