The World And China :

China one of the longest running civilization on the planet, other civilizations came and went, even ancient Kmt and Kush disappeared, but China as far as continuity goes is only superseded by India, although the people of the dream-time may take issue with that, in this land marvelous inventions were made that benefit the world today, think of what dinner at your favorite Italian restaurant would be like without China, today the world know of Marco Polo's travels but he was neither the first westerner but the most renowned, opinions may vary as to whether any Roman citizen actually settled in China pls look up Liqian, while claims are tantalizing it remained unproven, but Chinese goods and therefore presence where in Rome and Rome did send embassies to China during the Han dynasty.
Did contacts between China and folks to the far west made contacts at an even earlier date?? scientist said yes, direct contact not sure.

New Finds Suggest Even Earlier Trade on Fabled Silk Road
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: March 16, 1993
The latest and most surprising discovery is strands of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 B.C., long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and a good millennium before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt.
www.nytimes.com...

a reply to: Spider879

The China back then is not the China we know today.

Sounds rudimentary I know but more things have changed in China over the past few thousand years than most places on the planet. Not just talking about Governing forces but also the size, types of economy, They went from being one of the most advanced ancient cultures/explorers to introverted isolated Waring chiefdom's to Communism and one of the poorest countries to just again become one of the wealthier ones.

The history of China goes way back in ancient prehistory literally.

They have gone the whole route of development, receding power, to a Renaissance to a Cultural revolution, to crushing democratic protests, to allowing the West to export their manufacturing of mass pollution of their rivers, land and air , of products so we can all have cheap phones...

Most here should by now know of the the seemingly European like mummies of Western China, these may well be part of a post prehistoric presence of people moving into that part of the world perhaps connected to horse travel.

Fourth layer of the Xiaohe cemetery showing a large number of large phallus and vulva posts; b) a well-preserved boat coffin; c) female mummy with European features; d) double-layered coffin excavated from the Xiaohe cemetery. (Figure 2 from Li et al. in BMC Genetics 2015 16:78. Image used under a CC-BY 4.0 license.)
DNA Reveals These Red-Haired Chinese Mummies Come From Europe And Asia

Within a nondescript Bronze Age cemetery first discovered by Swedish archaeologists in 1934 and rediscovered by the Xinjiang Archaeological Institute in 2000, researchers have found the oldest and best-preserved mummies in the Tarim Basin area of China. Their skeletal remains, along with unprecedented artifacts, are helping solve the longstanding question of the origins of human settlement in a politically contested area of China.

Contemporary occupants of the Tarim Basin, a geographical area in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region of northwest China, are both biologically and culturally diverse. The region borders numerous countries and was historically a part of the Silk Road trade route between the West and the East, so people and artifacts have moved through the Tarim Basin for thousands of years. But the origins of the inhabitants of the basin have been questioned.

One hypothesis suggests that the earliest settlers of this part of Asia were nomadic herders from the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan, while the other suggests that people came first from the oases of Bactria, or modern Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. While both hypotheses have support in archaeological findings such as burial customs, clothing styles, and animal bones, previous genetic evidence from human remains, which came from a cemetery called Gumugou on the eastern edge of the Tarim Basin, was
www.forbes.com... 8a423

Pls Klik the link for more including Dna results at the bottom
To be Cont.

originally posted by: SLAYER69
a reply to: Spider879

The China back then is not the China we know today.

Sounds rudimentary I know but more things have changed in China over the past few thousand years than most places on the planet. Not just talking about Governing forces but also the size, types of economy, They went from being one of the most advanced ancient cultures/explorers to introverted isolated Waring chiefdom's to Communism and one of the poorest countries to just again become one of the wealthier ones.

The history of China goes way back in ancient prehistory literally.

They have gone the whole route of development, receding power, to a Renaissance to a Cultural revolution, to crushing democratic protests, to allowing the West to export their manufacturing of mass pollution of their rivers, land and air , of products so we can all have cheap phones...

Agreed no civilization remained static, but I believe part of their continuity is their language written and spoken, again allowing for innovations and an awareness at least since the Qin Dynasty of being Chinese as a state and a people.

Perhaps the greatest of the Chinese explorers where of the Ming dynasty especially under admiral Zeng-he a Muslim slave and a eunuch his father's name was Ma Hajji indicating he made the pilgrimage called the Hajj. this was in my view one of the greatest Chinese dynasties, the travels of the Mings was one of the great break out parties by a state dwarfing the Mali's Emperor Mansa Musa breakout party a century earlier, Admiral Zeng he grabbed the attention of the world, unfortunately the next dynasty would moth ball their fleets and put a stop to innovation which in-turn cause the west to catch up and surpassed them, but during this time the nations of the south west would benefit greatly from their presence, various Ming wares were to be found up and down the East coast of Africa and as far in land as Zimbabwe , Ivory and other goods were traded and taken aboard Somali,Swahili, Arab , Persian, Indian and off course Chinese ships, these would have trading out post in China itself.

Chinese map of southern Africa.

A gift from a Swahili king to the emperor of China.

A Swahili trader or diplomat in China.

Kifeng Jews of China 1910.
Jews also had a presence in China along with their Muslim,Indian counter parts these were in Kaifeng a community that is almost gone.
Chinese women with Jewish roots to make aliyah

The 5 women have studied Hebrew and Judaism in preparation for their immigration to Israel; they are from Kaifeng where a Jewish community is believed to have been founded by Iraqi or Persian Jews in the 8th or 9th century ACE.
www.ynetnews.com...

Did part of a Chinese fleet reached the Americas on-board Chinese ships?
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Klik here^
Pls add info or critique pos or neg, but enjoy.

a reply to: Spider879

Sorry meant to ask in the above post^ did Marco Polo reached the Americas on-board Chinese ships??

a reply to: Spider879

Fairly sure there is still doubt whether or not Marco Polo ever went to China at all - I was surprised to learn that considering he apparently stayed there for several years he never mentioned the great wall, never mentioned foot binding - sheesh, never mentioned tea. If I remember what I read correctly, he's not mentioned in any contemporary Chinese records either, so it's a little bit of a grey area.

originally posted by: Spider879
a reply to: Spider879

Sorry meant to ask in the above post^ did Marco Polo reached the Americas on-board Chinese ships??

There is some suggestion by the link above that he may have, here is the Smithsonian article www.smithsonianmag.com...

originally posted by: uncommitted
a reply to: Spider879

Fairly sure there is still doubt whether or not Marco Polo ever went to China at all - I was surprised to learn that considering he apparently stayed there for several years he never mentioned the great wall, never mentioned foot binding - sheesh, never mentioned tea. If I remember what I read correctly, he's not mentioned in any contemporary Chinese records either, so it's a little bit of a grey area.

But Ibn Batutta gave the first mention of the great wall and we all know there were other visitors before him.

originally posted by: Spider879

originally posted by: uncommitted
a reply to: Spider879

Fairly sure there is still doubt whether or not Marco Polo ever went to China at all - I was surprised to learn that considering he apparently stayed there for several years he never mentioned the great wall, never mentioned foot binding - sheesh, never mentioned tea. If I remember what I read correctly, he's not mentioned in any contemporary Chinese records either, so it's a little bit of a grey area.

But Ibn Batutta gave the first mention of the great wall and we all know there were other visitors before him.

Yeah, my comment was to your question on if Marco Polo had travelled to America on a Chinese ship. My point was there is still a debate over whether Polo actually ever visited China, or if his writings are a mixture of accounts by others that he then wove into a narrative with himself as the explorer. It's a compelling argument considering the detail he goes into in some areas, whereas others (the wall, tea etc.) are completely lacking.

What little is known of Huishen is recorded in the Liang Shu (the chronicle of the Chinese Liang dynasty) in fewer than 750 characters. Originating in Kabul, Huishen fled to China to avoid religious persecution. He is reported to have sailed from China in AD 458, returning in 499 to tell the Emperor and the court historian of his travels. No reason is provided for Huishen's journey, although missionary work is a possibility. Given the length of his travels (around 10,000 miles) and some of the recounted details, Huishen is believed to have reached not only British Columbia (there is a legend on Haida Gwaii of an Asian monk who spent more than a year on the islands), but sailed down the coast to Central America.

According to legend, the Chinese Buddhist monk Huishen sailed to Central America after visiting what is now British Columbia, and when he reached Central America, he preached Buddhism to indigenous peoples in this region and named one portion of Central America near the Yucatan Peninsula as Guatemala in honor of Siddharta Gautama.