Zheng He - born in KunYang, a town just south of Kunming. Large statue of him in a park there. Museum too (though locked up when I visited).

It sounds very far-fetched. Much better documented is that nordic explorers visited North America well before Columbus.

Zheng He's voyages were imperially financed trips to known trade centers by known routes with the explicit goal of supporting commercial relationships. Given that as a boy Zheng He saw his father killed and was then castrated by invading imperial forces in Kunming, it's unlikely he would have risked the emperor's wrath by going rogue.

Zheng He was one of history's great navigators but there is zero evidence that he sailed to America.

The most likely claimants (post-Leif Ericson) were two Bristol traders called Croft and Jay who were profiting from the Church's new edict for weekly fish days, and keeping the location well under wraps.

Of course the Chinese found America, they also invented the moon, breathing, (and public farting as it is still proudly display on countless occassions), food, water & running backwards.

Seriously is there something the Chinese don't claim to have invented?

Of course as we still see everyday the Chinese love bureaucracy and write even the most useless information down.

Thus many items that Chinese claim to have invented are based on the earliest scriptures mentioning them. That still doesn't mean they are the inventors. Plus keep in mind that until the end of the warring states many states and provinces weren't Chinese but were independent states or belonged to other states such an Mongolia...etc.

I am a big fan of Zheng He but I seriously doubt that he went to America plus if he would have already known the map of America then why did he take a Western route with his fleet.

Plus a lot of their maritime technology they got, is from the Middle East who have been pretty apt on the seas and even more important, they have been great mathmeticians, something the Chinese aren't too genius about, beyond memorizing.

So a lot of it is propaganda, so people can feel develop some pride for something that isn't theirs.

There was an anti-Columbus propaganda campaign and this was probably part of it because a day after this article there was a nasty write-up about Columbus in yahoo news.

They found mines with bronze work tools and objects dating back nearly 2500 years and the "visitors" were described to have come by ship by the Indians.

Then there are also the Mandan indians who had very pale skin and blue eyes and unlike other indian tribes lived as farmers. Sources claim they were a mix of local indians and Welsh settlers who by accident arrived there a long time ago.

I still vote for the vikings to be first (after the natives).

That unless the Atlanteans are real and managed to get there first 2500 years ago.

welsh indians is patagonia I think. prince madoc sailed there before columbus, went home and came back again.

Old news.

Near my province in Atlantic Canada

www.gavinmenzies.net/[...]

and

New England USA south of atlantic Canada

www.gavinmenzies.net/[...]

www.gokunming.com/[...]

ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0507/feature2/

it says the map was radiocarbondated. did they date the ink as well as the paper i wonder. not that anyone has ever faked artifacts, and the ch would never fake anything

I think the dates in my last post were wrong, too early by 100 years - don't know what I was thinking. mea culpa.