Zheng He: Explorer!

I would like to say that Admiral Zheng He is my favorite explorer.  He had a total of seven voyages.  (Take that Christopher Columbus!)  Anyway, Admiral Zheng He wasn't always an explorer.  He started out as baby, like all of us, in 1371 CE.  His home town was conquered when he was the age of three.  He was brought to the emperor as a gift and was later castrated.  As he got older, he got closer to the emperor and became the chief lieutenant.  He set sail for the world in 1405.  In this amount of time, Admiral Zheng visited 37 countries and possibly America.  He sailed to ChoChin and the Persian Gulf.  These explorations brought new trade to China.  Zheng He's exploration could've opened many new doors for China had they chosen to pursue and map out the world, but exploration was abruptly put to a halt in 1433.  The Ming Dynasty had been conquered and the new emperor burned all ocean floats, ceasing any exploration or trade.  No one is sure of why this discussion was made, but some say it was to turn China's focus inward.  The new emperor wanted to improve China from the inside, as opposed to conquering or exploring other parts of the world.
http://www.whatdoyaknow.com/images/1421-ChinaZhengHeShip1405vsSantaMaria500pxw.jpg