More than half a century before Christopher Columbus set sail to explore the world, an Asian admiral of the Ming dynasty embarked on seven wondrous voyages of discovery. Between 1405 to 1433, Admiral Zheng He visited more than 30 countries from Asia to Africa with his "Treasure Fleet". It was believed that his fleet would have sailed passed Singapore.

The historic achievements through Admiral Zheng He's voyages played an important role in China's foreign relations, politically, economically and culturally. The voyages vastly expanded the then technological and cultural knowledge for people in the countries visited by Zheng He's fleet.

This set of four stamps marks the 600th Anniversary of this great explorer. This is also an omnibus issue as China, Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia will be releasing a stamp issue respectively to commemorate this event [ see page 10 for some of their products ].

In the addition to the stamps, First Day Cover and the Presentation Pack, you can also collect the special Collectors' Sheet [ Special Order Form enclosed ], which is illustrated with the old map of that era as well as the year of each of the seven voyages.