Cheng Ho Culture Museum is believed to be a restructured ancient building with Ming architecture, with two to three hundred years of history. The famous Cheng Ho is the Ming Dynasty Admiral who has visited Malacca many times while en route to the Western Ocean from 1405-1433. It is believed that he has set up a huge warehouse complex along the northern side of Malacca River. To date, there has been dispute in the location of the warehouse complex, while some believed to be at Bukit Cina. Nevertheless, the museum showcases many evidence of cultural exchange between the local ethnic and the Chinese, among others, treasure ships, tea houses and other navigation instruments.
Zheng He was born in 1371 in Jinning near Kunming City in Yunnan Province, China. He became a great navigator and diplomat and led seven voyages around the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, Red Sea with a fleet of more than 100 ships each time and other 20,000 crewmen. He cultivated strong ties with the rulers of the various lands he visited, engaged in trade and fostered goodwill towards China and the Ming Emperor. Occasionally he intervened militarily to settle local disputes but mostly his missions were peaceful. He was the instigator of the ancient Maritime Silk Road and in many ways is the inspiration for President Xi Jinping’s modern Maritime Silk Road and the Belt & Road initiative.
He was born a Muslim and given the name Ma He. Ma, the family name, represented the first syllable of Muhammad.
Zheng He was a eunuch. He was captured at age 12 and cruelly castrated by his captors. Without going into the gory details, at the museum you can see an example of a sealed jar in which eunuchs preserved their severed parts.The museum is much larger than it appears from the outside with three floors of exhibits. It is thought that the museum may be built on the site of one of the giant warehouses built by Zheng He.
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