In this day and age when nearly everywhere in the world is easily accessible, it is easy to forget that things were not so rosy for the early explorers. Many people know about the voyages of Christopher Columbus but how many people knew of the Chinese Admiral Zheng He?
Zheng He (1371 to 1433 or 1435), was a Chinese mariner during the early Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644). His patron was the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di (1360 to 1424). More details about Zheng He can be found in this Wikipedia entry.
Let me show you some interesting photos.
This first photo shows a model of Admiral Zheng He's flagship (use the little girl for scale). It was probably the most massive ship in the world at that time (14th to 15th century). However it was not the only ship in Zheng He's fleet.
If you zoom in to the photo, you can read some details of the treasure ship (宝船, bao chuan).
Zheng He's fleet included supply ships, horse ships, water tankers, patrol ships, combat ships and troop ships. Some of the ships even had tubs where sailors planted herbs, vegetables and even citrus fruits (such as oranges). So there were no problems with scurvy during the long voyages.
Finally, take a look at the photo below.
It shows part of the treasure fleet to scale beside the flagship. Look at the massive size!
