Zheng He's treasure ships

Timeline

1. c. 1403–1405Longjiang Treasure Ship Yard · NanjingThe Yongle Emperor ordered large seagoing ships built at the Longjiang Treasure Ship Yard in Nanjing, using the Fujian ship design with multiple decks, multiple masts and sails, and equipped with rudders, anchors and other complex devices, in preparation for the first voyage to the Western Ocean.
2. 1405–1407Liujiagang, Taicang · TaicangIn the winter of Yongle 3, Zheng He led over two hundred ships of various sizes, including treasure ships, and more than twenty thousand troops and officers, departing from Liujiagang, passing through Champa and Java to the west coast of India; the treasure ships served as flagships, bearing functions of ocean voyaging and diplomatic display.
3. 1407–1409Indian Ocean coast · Indian OceanDuring the second and third voyages to the Western Ocean, the treasure ship fleet penetrated deep into the Indian Ocean, establishing trade and tributary contacts in places such as Calicut and Ceylon, carrying goods like silk and porcelain and taking aboard envoys from various states, demonstrating the Ming dynasty's ocean transport capacity.
4. 1410–1433Longjiang, Nanjing · NanjingBy the late Yongle and Xuande periods, treasure ships continued to take part in subsequent voyages; their large wooden structures, watertight bulkheads and navigation techniques influenced shipbuilding traditions in East and Southeast Asia, and documents such as Zheng He's navigation charts became important materials for studying 15th-century global maritime traffic.