Fifteenth-century China was a maritime powerhouse that explored new lands and opened trade routes. It was also the best-connected political entity in the world, with a presence in Asia, Africa, and ...

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from “Between Man and Sea: China and Its World in Maritime Asia,” by Yang Bin, professor of Chinese language and history at the City University of Hong Kong.

It’s never hard finding adventure in China. By driving just half an hour outside of Nanjing, the former Ming dynasty capital that today is a metropolis of 4.5 million, we have slipped back into a ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. More than six centuries ago, roughly 80 years ahead of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, Chinese admiral Zheng He reached the ...

Based on the voyages of Admiral Zheng He, the explorer who led seven expeditions to Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Africa during the 15th century.