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Zheng He's seven western voyages embodied China's policy of peaceful
foreign diplomacy, transmitting China's magnificent civilization and spirit and
establishing mutually beneficial trade relations with the countries of Asia and
Africa. Zheng He's peaceful methods won him a warm welcome and strengthened the
Ming Dynasty's relations with every country he visited. By making the pilgrimage
to Islam's holy city of Mecca, Zheng He further improved relations between China
and the Islamic world. Up to the present day, China's goodwill envoy Zheng He is
still remembered by the peoples of Africa and Asia. Traces of his visits still
exist in numerous countries along the East African coast. The city of Sanbaolong
and Sanbao Temple on the island of Java in present-day Indonesia, as well as
Sanbao Temple and Sanbao Pagoda in Thailand, all bear Zheng He's nickname San
Bao (Three Treasures). A commemorative stele erected by Zheng He to mark his
visits to Ceylon can be seen at Sri Lanka's national museum in Colombo.
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