Laksamana Cheng Ho (Zheng He)

Cheng Ho (1371 – 1436) was a mariner and diplomat from China during Ming Dinasty. He led 7 expedition to the south was with thousands of seamen. He presented gifts of gold, silver, silk, and porcelain to the world. In return, he brought jewelries, zebras, giraffes, etc. to China. The expeditions successfully established trading connections between China and 35 countries including kingdoms in the Archipelago. Cheng Ho was not the only one explorer who visited Indonesia. There are some other well-known explorer visited Indonesian archipelago, such as Marco Polo, Cornelis de Houtman, Alfonso d’Alburquerque, etc.