Two sets of stamps to commemorate Zheng He, an ancient seafaring hero living in the Ming Dynasty (( 1368-1644), were issued by the State Post Bureau on Tuesday in Changle, a coastal city in east China's Fujian Province.

The first set of special stamps, with a face value of 2.4 yuan, comprises three sheets, respectively featuring the portrait of Zheng He, navigation science and technologies, and the courage to do trade and foreign relations with other countries. The second set, with a face value of 6 yuan, features the fleet led by Zheng.

More than 400 domestic guests, including the designer Cui Yanwei, a teacher specializing in stamp painting at the prestigious Qinghua University, participated in the ceremony and reviewed the contributions of Zheng, who made seven ocean voyages 600 years ago.

Zheng's fleet, comprising more than 300 ships and manned by about 27,000 sailors, a number unrivaled in the world at that time, voyaged to more than 30 countries in Asia and Africa from the year of 1405 to 1433.

Zheng is also believed the first man to blaze a direct sea route linking the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. His voyage is recorded 87 years earlier than Columbus' discovery of the Americas and 114 years earlier than Magellan's round-the-world voyage.

According to local history books, Changle was used as a seafaring base for the seafaring hero to extend his fleet, recruit and train sailors, and replenish the provisions.

Source: Xinhua