KUNMING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- After more than 600 years, the fleet of legendary Chinese navigator Zheng He has been brought back to life by Fu Kunxiang, a craftsman from southwest China's Yunnan Province.

During the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zheng's fleet had sailed to dozens of countries and regions in Asia and Africa, several decades before Christopher Columbus set foot on America.

"There are no seas around my hometown in Yunnan, but it is the birthplace of Zheng He," Fu said, sharing his inspiration behind creating the replicas.

In honor and reminiscence of Zheng's accomplishments, Fu decided to create models of the ancient fleet in 2012. But, the 55-year-old craftsman, who got attracted to the models at the age of 13, had no idea how tough the work would be back then.

Since the design and construction drawings of the fleet had long been lost in history, Fu had to travel across the country visiting experts in ancient sailboats and manufacturing sites of Zheng's fleet to work on his construction plan.

"We don't know how many times we have failed in the process of building just a single 'Treasure Ship'," Fu said.

Having spent three years and investing over 10 million yuan (about 1.54 million U.S. dollars), Fu and his team of more than 70 members finally replicated Zheng He's fleet with a scale of one to 50.

The fleet consists of 208 model ships including Zheng's flagship, 61 "Treasure Ships" and other vessels with various functions. It will require an exhibition area spanning more than 5,000 square meters to fully showcase the models.

Fu is, however, not satisfied with what he has achieved and determined to set himself a bigger challenge -- a more delicate model series with a scale of one to 100. "I want to create models featuring cultural relics and use them to reproduce the exquisite shipbuilding skills of China more than 600 years ago," he said.

Fu dedicated several years to hone his craft, visiting coastal provinces such as Fujian and Guangdong to acquire shipbuilding skills. "The smallest pulley used on my ship models is only 2 mm long, and there is also a 0.5-mm-long bearing between the pulleys," he said. "I had to make over 100 pulleys for a ship model and sometimes even used magnifying glass in the process."

Fu adopted a slew of construction techniques from ancient China including mortise and tenon joints to create his models. "I want to use my ship models as a medium for illustrating the intangible cultural heritage of China," he said.

In 2019, a German museum took one of Fu's "Treasure Ship" models into its collection. "I am very pleased that my work has been recognized," he said, adding that it will take three to five years to finish his new model series.

"I hope to exhibit my models in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative in the future, so as to let more people know about Chinese maritime culture," Fu said. Enditem

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