The Rise of Western Power: When China Ruled the Sea

These treasure ships or the Bao River were built at the wharf of Nanjing and the first voyage included 317 vessels of up to 400 feet (Levathes 21). The huge size of Baochuan can be compared with one quarter of the size of Columbus and Degasma's ship (Levathes 22). Zheng he and his treasure fleet have traveled from China to the East African coast, staying at the major ports of the Spice Islands, India, the Arabian Peninsula. Over the centuries, especially after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the decline of the Mediterranean, thanks to the spice and textile markets, the Indian Ocean has been a longing and favorable source of business and trade.

A corner of the western Pacific bordering the South China Sea, South China Sea, South East Asia Continent. It is located in the Northeast Taiwan Strait (leading to the East China Sea), Taiwan and eastern Philippines, southeast and south of Borneo, the southern boundary of the Gulf of Thailand and the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and the western and northern parts of the Asian continent. The South China Sea and East China Sea jointly formed the China Sea. The southern boundary of the South China Sea is the rise of the sea floor between Sumatra and Borneo, and the northern boundary extends from the northernmost tip of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait to the strait of China's Fujian Province. The area is about 1,423,000 square miles (3,685,000 square kilometers) and the average depth is 3,976 feet (1,212 meters).

The territorial waters of China are primarily the limiting waters of the western Pacific. These waters are on the coastline of the continental cyclone and about 5,000 islands. The Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea are the limiting waters of the Pacific Ocean. More than half of the southern coastline is mainly rock, the rest is mostly sandy. Hangzhou Bay is divided into two types of coastline. The river water level of the North China Plain drops sharply, the river continues to pass through the delta and carries a large amount of sand and mud deposited in the plain. An artificial levee helps this flow. As a result, the river flows over raised ridges 50 meters above the plain. Over the centuries, Hill, floods, and path changes have been reproduced. Traditionally rulers are judged based on their concern or indifference to embankment protection.