Zhai Mo, the first Chinese captain in history to circumnavigate the globe solo, arrived in Malta on Monday on the latest stop of his journey to retrace the ancient Maritime Silk Road.
“600 years ago, Chinese sailors travelled around the world, stopping in every port in every country, trading and exchanging culture. Now we are following in the footsteps of these great sailors,” Mr Zhai said.
Stepping off his ship in blustery weather after a smooth five-day journey from his last stop in Cairo, Mr Zhai described the Maltese harbour as one of the most beautiful he had seen on his journey so far.
We are following in the footsteps of these great sailors
He arrives in Malta after three months at sea, having set off from Fujian Province in May and travelled through Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Djibouti and Egypt on his way to Malta.
From here, he will sail to Milan for the World Expo, completing a 10,000-nautical-mile voyage.
“The most challenging part of the journey so far has been the Indian Ocean, where we were caught in heavy monsoon rains,” he said.
“But we also needed a navy escort around Somalia because of the trouble with pirates.”
Mr Zhai explained that the chosen route closely followed that set by early Chinese explorers and traders, although ancient sailors travelled overland from the Red Sea to the Nile before the opening of the Suez Canal.
The project is part of a Chinese government initiative to promote the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, one of two new foreign trade routes reminiscent of the ancient Silk Road.
Over 50 countries have agreed to participate in the ambitious project, which has the potential to impact 4.4 billion people once completed.
Mr Zhai is already well-known in China, having circumnavigated the globe on a 35-000-nautical mile solo journey in 2009, among several other ambitious navigational exploits. He is accompanied by a media crew including well-known Chinese media organisation South East TV, who are covering the journey on Chinese TV, newspapers and online.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry, which is coordinating the visit with the support of various local entities, said Malta would benefit from wide publicity as a key location on the new trade route.
The sailing vessels will be officially welcomed into Grand Harbour with a gun salute from the Upper Barakka Gardens tomorrow at 5pm.
The general public has been invited to attend.