Zheng Ming gives an interview to reporter when sailing with "Green Brow" ship.

　　Zheng Ming is a retired rear admiral of the PLA Navy and used to be a shipbuilding expert of China. He retired in April 1994 from the post of the sixth director of the Armaments & Technology Department of the PLA Navy at which he worked for over 10 years. Retirement has not stopped him from continuing his decades' devotion to the study of sea and ship, and this time to the study of the history of Zheng He's oceangoing voyages to the west. For the sake of drawing due attention of the entire society to Zheng He as well as to seas and oceans, he has been traveling hither and thither in the last few years to give publicity to it and never get bored with it.

　　"How brilliant were Zheng He's Voyages?" On hearing this question, Zheng Ming's eyes suddenly showed an unusual brightness and stated proudly: "The mixed fleet commanded by Zheng He was indeed an unparalleled feat in the navigation history, the shipbuilding history and the navy history at home and abroad since it was the largest in tonnage and in number of sailors, the most compact in organization, the farthest in distance, the longest in duration, the most advanced in navigation technologies, the most excellent in shipbuilding techniques, and the most far-reaching and profound in influence.

　　Zheng Ming further pointed out that the cutting-edge shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty was fully demonstrated in the steep increase in the volume of the ships. For the sake of increasing the ocean shipping capacity, Zheng He saw to it that super scale ships should be designed and manufactured for his voyages, resulting in bulking the carrying capacity of the ships by a large margin. The colossal unprecedented Treasure Ship built at that time measured 140.75 meters long, 57 meters wide with a displacement of over 10,000 tons.

　　Should the discovery of the site of the Treasure Ship Dockyard be listed as one of the "top 10 archaeological findings" of the year?

　　"Of course," said Zheng Ming proudly. "Building of such a huge ship requires corresponding shipbuilding equipment, large-scaled dockyard and harbor. All these had already been achieved in Zheng He's times."

　　The year of 2003 was marked by the discovery of the site of the Longjiang Dockyard---the most significant finding in China's navigation history, which was unearthed in Nanjing. "It was the largest shipbuilding base and one of the docking centers at that time. Till now, the remains of the docks and water channel are still in good shape. The finished measurement has it that the dock stretches for about 500 meters long and 40 meters wide. Looking to the north from a tall building on the opposite of the site, the remains of the three nearest docks were integrated into one with the Yangtze River." One year's excavation has primarily unveiled the original look of the site of the Ming Dynasty dockyard, which has made Zheng Ming very excited. The huge dockyard was not only unprecedented in China's history, but also second to none in the world's history. It was the convincing evidence proving that China's shipbuilding industry in the Middle Ages held a good lead over all the other countries in the world.

　　"The value and significance of this site is no less than that of the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven." Zheng Ming alleged: "It can very well be listed as one of the 'Top 10 Archaeological Findings' of the year!"

　　The application of the highly precise compass facilitated the Great Navigation Age

　　Zheng Ming told the reporter: the celestial navigation skills used by Zheng He's Fleet was world apart from the earlier way of depending solely on astrology since the Han Dynasty, hence developing into a complete set of navigation skills entirely independent of horoscope.

　　From the geonavigation point of view, the application of compass by Zheng He's Fleet had greatly outstripped the past ways of direction-finding first and then deciding the bearing of the course, which was a giant progress enabling them to rely on the compass to identify the route of the needle pointer and then deciding the right bearings, sailing speed, required space and route and the best course. For instance, it was recorded that "while sailing between Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and the east coast of Africa, 'the Geng-You ( Geng stands for the 7th of the Ten Heavenly Stems and You the 10th of the 12 Earthly Branches) route of the needle pointer will take you to Muqdisho'. The Geng-You route of the needle pointer then stood for 262 degree, which is exactly the correct course for today's navigation".

　　Despite of the fact that there are still many mysteries about Zheng He's voyages, one thing is beyond any doubt: The advanced skills used by Zheng He's voyages to the west had laid solid foundations for the dawning of the Great Navigation Age.

　　Project for restoring Zheng He's Treasure Ship is hoped to start early

　　"What on earth does Zheng He's Treasure Ship look like? It is anybody's guess at this stage. However, we can try our best to make it as close to the original thing as possible." Zheng Ming said that there are two major tasks waiting to be done at present to commemorate Zheng He's voyages to the west.

　　One is the restoration of the ancient ship. Zheng Ming believes that studies of historical figures should not remain too long on pure theory. Zheng He's Treasure Ship should be "materialized". In other words, it should be turned into a real thing for people to see. Ever since 2000, Zheng Ming has been advocating the project for the restoration of Zheng He's wooden Treasure Ship, and has been conducting initiative planning and taking part in direct studies to that end.

　　"Another project is the navigation project. That is to sail along the maritime 'Silk Road' by which Zheng He sailed to the west 600 years ago." In Zheng Ming's mind, this will have profound significance for enhancing the nationals' sense of maritime, for carrying out friendly cultural exchanges and for promoting Chinese culture. "By then, I would very much like to steer the real 'Treasure Ship' and sail along the sea route of Zheng He to complete the eighth voyage to the west." While saying these, Zheng Ming's eyes were full of expectations towards the future.