As for my short statement about japan in the previous post, what I vaguely remember about their history is that they existed and had issues with the natives. Their leadership system was setup with an emperor and his warrior subjects. Those that fought for him would earn land as payment for services. From what I know about Japanese history, which its very vague, is that this system lasted for years all the way up through the 1500s.

Thumbs up to blobbles. Built half the time, set sail, fell apart shortly after due to bad quality materials.

Noah's ark was the same size?

Anyways, as for "structural impossibility" are you sure about that? Zheng He was during the mid-late Ming dynasty. During that time they had cannons, broadswords, armor, etc. It wasn't necessarily a stone age era. I'm sure they used some sort of metallic material to help create the "bones" of the ship or even as a fastener. Also, it's hard to make the argument that "wood that big doesn't exist" when we have Redwoods in California that are the largest trees in the world.

Also, I agree I don't think they could survive swells. Zhang He was a Yunnan native. He wasn't born on the sea. Most shipbuilding of immense size prior to the time was for river barges. I can't specifically state that the Chinese had no knowledge of ocean travel since there's stories during the Qin dynasty of the "mad" emperor that sent ships to the "heavenly land" to find the fountain of youth (Japan).

I'm with blobbles all the way, and now thumbs up on Liumingke1234. Chinese love to copy so much, that when they watch tv they begin living in a fantasy world. Ever heard of some Japanese anime being banned due to people recreating the fictional stories? I heard some people watched Deathnote, and actually began murdering their classmates in schools years ago. I'm sure the same follows for watching live action television shows.

Everyone remembers all the "gangnam style" parodies, but what I found absolutely ridiculous was people IN CHINA making an "aircraft carrier style" by mimicking the gestures of the ground crew signaling the pilot to take off after watching it on tv. There were entire university dorms doing it, businessmen, some policemen, etc. Something I would expect from a 5 yr old. After working in universities, I've come to realize University life in China is similar to middle or highschool. People do some things that leave you scratching your head, chuckling, and wondering if you're teaching mature students or a group of tall 5 yr olds?

Honestly, they should only issue rubber bullets and other non-lethal ammo. Some of these cities are the most populated on earth, consisting of different nationalities, and China is known for it's inhumanity in western media. By issuing non-lethal ammo, they would be preventing fatalities. IF there's another incident at a train station, isn't it better to have the suspects alive for questioning rather than killing them and then trying to build the puzzle afterwards?

I agree with blobbles. Accidents can, and will happen. I wouldn't trust putting a lethal weapon in the hands of Chinese police, who some have their jobs thanks to mom and dad's connections.

Another thing to point out is the young thugs in the force. I'm not sure if they're in Chengguan, or in police. I've heard about "gangs" in the security force that don't like foreigners.

You have to remember there are 2 sides of government in China. 1 is liberal and pro-capitalist. The other is neo-Maoist that dislike westerners and western things.

Also, I totally agree with a point someone said about criminals increasing firepower. Everything is a balance. When police get guns, the criminals will too. IF China manages to impose such strict bans on firepower, then we should fear the police because eventually one of them will get power hungry holding a killing machine in the palm of their hands.