Something quite remarkable is happening on the banks of the Yangtze River in Nanjing. A vast wooden ship is poised to set sail as China’s new international diplomat; destination foreign lands to which its predecessors voyaged long ago.
Late last year, international media pointed out that China had overtaken the USA as the world’s largest diplomatic power, with 276 such posts globally, three more than America.
A better headline might have been “China Retakes Position as World’s Largest Diplomatic Power”.
Almost 600 years ago, Zheng He became an international ambassador beyond compare. The eunuch led an enormous fleet on voyages of discovery and diplomacy as far as Africa and the Arabian gulf.
It was the zenith of Chinese influence abroad.
Emperor Han Wudi, who ruled from from 141–87 BCE, sent missions to today’s India and Sri Lanka. During the same period, a messenger of the Roman Empire came to China by sea.
The Maritime Silk Road had been born and Nanjing was to be its capital.
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From the year 1250 to 1279 CE, five shipyards in Nanjing built 3,550 ships, an average of 123 ships per year. The scale, tonnage, strength, stability and seaworthiness of these ancient Chinese sailing ships led the world at that time.
The Maritime Silk Road brought about numerous advances in technology, including the invention of the watertight compartment.
Among the vast number of ships built was Zheng’s flagship of the fleet. It could carry 3,000 men and even had elevators installed therein.
The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which forms the “road” of the Belt and Road Initiative, therefore needs an appropriate statesman. What better than one of Zheng’s ships?
Which is exactly what has been taking shape on the banks of the Yangtze in Nanjing.
Meeting the requirements of both the China Classification Society (CCS) and DNV GL, the world’s largest ship classification society, the Zheng He replica displaces 1,800 tons of water and is 71.1 metres long. With a main mast 38 metres high, the replica will be able to manage 4-6 knots under sail.
In a concession to modernity, the wooden ship also has two 447 KW diesel engines that will propel the ship at 11 knots in the event of little wind.
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Presiding over its construction has been Professor Zhao Zhigang, Deputy Secretary General of the China Zheng He Research Association.
He believes that the new ship is a poster child for China’s international diplomacy today.
It’s also a pricy extra for movies and a mobile museum of China.
When complete, the replica shall hoist its sails and retrace the wake of its forbearers, 600 years ago. Wherever it makes port, there will be no shortage of people wishing to ascend its gangplanks. On board, they will learn of Nanjing, the place where Chinese and foreign merchants came together to exchange their wares 6 centuries ago.
As the new ship helps address China’s vision for a community of shared future for mankind, so too we will then be able to say that the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is complete.
Following in the steps of the likes of Benjamin Franklin, a new kind of international diplomat will have arrived.
