Connect Xian with Shanghai by drawing a line between them. Show Admiral Cheng-ho's trade route by drawing a line from Shanghai southward along the coast of China to the city of Singapore at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. Continue the route from Singapore westward across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka, then to the entrance to the Persian Gulf. From there draw your line southwest around Saudi Arabia and into the Red Sea. Also draw a branch of that line southward along the coast of Africa to the city of Mogadishu in Somalia.
Ships can carry much more weight than a camel caravan and do it much more cheaply.
Following Cheng-ho's death, the political situation of China changed. Being self- sufficient and shunning contact with the outside world, the Chinese withdrew from overseas trading even though they had the largest and best ships of their time. During this same period the Portuguese led the Europeans with voyages of exploration. These voyages established direct contact with parts of China and much of Southeast Asia. The early trade routes around Africa were soon controlled by the Portuguese.