via People’s Daily Online, 17 July 2023: Artisan Fu Kunxiang and his team have created 21 models of Chinese navigator Zheng He’s legendary fleet, aiming to revive the glory of his adventures, with plans to display the ship models along the new Maritime Silk Road, commemorating China’s 19th National Maritime Day.
57-year-old Fu Kunxiang, the artisan who created the models, said by building the models, he wants to create a revival of the glorious adventure. Fu, who has been committed to ship model building for 40 years, is an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of building models of ancient ships in Kunming city, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
According to historical records, Zheng He’s fleet consisted of more than 200 different ships, including over 60 treasure ships. The largest treasure ship was about 150 meters long and 60 meters wide.
