Captain of the Swedish replica merchant ship the Gotheborg and the builder of the Chinese Zhenghe Treasure Boat signed a "sistership" agreement yesterday in Nanjing, the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Peter Kaalings, captain of the Swedish vessel, said at the signing ceremony that the agreement would benefit ship-building knowledge and promote the relationship between China and Sweden. "It is a great idea for the Chinese people to rebuild the treasure boat employed by the great navigator Zheng He (1371-1435). We look forward to the times when the two ships can come together for exchanges," said Kaalings.

"We welcome the day when the Zhenghe Treasure Boat can sail to Sweden, when more Swedish people can learn more about China," added Kaalings.

The Gotheborg, currently anchoring in Shanghai Port, didn't sail to Nanjing yesterday, because the major water link between Nanjing and Shanghai is the Yangtze River and the ship was only designed to sail on oceans.

Experts from the two ships exchanged reconstruction techniques for ancient ships during a seminar yesterday morning.

There were tips on resisting worms and how to make the vessels fire-proof.

"I hope that by exchanging ideas on every aspect of the procedures involved in making replica ships, our Chinese friends can avoid mistakes we have made," said B-J Nilsson, chief engineer of the Gotheborg.

Zhao Baogang, president of the Nanjing-based Treasure Boat Development Corporation, said the two teams also discussed how to promote the replicas.

The signing ceremony took place yesterday in the Nanjing Treasure Boat Heritage Park, an excavated shipyard where much of Zheng's maiden fleet was built.

Construction of the Zhenghe replica treasure boat kicks off later this month in the park, and should be completed in 2008.

The boat is expected to sail as the country's "image envoy" in water events in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Zheng's fleet was made up of more than 300 vessels and manned by about 27,000 sailors, a number unrivalled in the world at that time. It visited more than 30 countries and regions in Asia and Africa between 1405 and 1433.

He is believed to be the first man to have established a direct sea route linking the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. His voyages occurred around eight decades earlier than Columbus' discovery of America and more than 100 years earlier than Magellan's round-the-world voyage.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2006)