Portrait of Zheng He painted on a wall of a park dedicated to him in...

Portrait of Zheng He painted on a wall of a park dedicated to him in his hometown, who lived a century after Marco Polo, was the unlikeliest of great admirals.... Portrait of Zheng He painted on a wall of a park dedicated to him in his hometown, who lived a century after Marco Polo, was the unlikeliest of great admirals. He was born a Muslim in this town in Yunnan Province, grew to a towering height of seven feet tall (2.134 m) and after being taken prisoner and castrated, became a favored court eunuch of the Ming emperor Zhu Di. As he gained the trust of the emperor, he ultimately helmed seven epic sea voyages on his behalf. His missions took him as far as Africa, and some say, even to North America. Kunyang, Yunnan, China Photo by Michael Yamashita