Early Ming Treasure Ship Prototypes

Timeline

1. 1368Longjiang (Yingtian Prefecture) · East ChinaAfter Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming in the first year of Hongwu, he established a government shipbuilding base in the Longjiang area, integrating late-Yuan naval craftsmen with Jiangnan shipwrights, and began building large wooden sailing ships to warship and grain transport specifications, stockpiling hull types for the navy and ocean navigation.
2. 1369–1370Docks of the Longjiang Treasure Shipyard · East ChinaBetween the second and third years of Hongwu, the government yards trial-built large sailing ship prototypes far exceeding ordinary warships in size, employing multiple masts, watertight compartments, and reinforced keel structures; though a treasure fleet on the scale of the later western voyages had not yet been formed, the technical route and acceptance standards for building giant ships were already established.