Zhai Mo, a 35-year-old Chinese of Shandong native, will set out alone by sailboat on March 18 for his voyage from Dalian to Nansha as the first part of his around-the-globe voyage.
Zhai will first spend one month in crossing waters of cities as Yantai, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Shanghai, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Taipei, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Haikou, Sanya, Xisha and Nansha, with a passage of 18,000 kilometers. Then he will return and set out again from Qingdao, enter the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca, pass through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea and cross the Atlantic Ocean. After visits to some island countries on the Caribbean Sea, Zhai would pass through the Panama Canal and arrive at South America to explore the relics of Maya civilization, and then go south to the French Tahiti Island to enjoy the scenery of the Southern Hemisphere. After that he will go north and return through the Philippines. Zhai plans to complete the voyage in 18 months by covering a total distance around 28,000 nautical miles and stopping at more than 50 ports in over 30 countries and regions.
As a young modern artist, Zhai once lived in France and New Zealand. From February 2000 to August 2001, he sailed around New Zealand to visit local exhibition of Polynesian aborigines art and open his painting exhibitions. In September 2001 he set out from Auckland on an 8-meter sailboat, and crossed the Tonga-Kermadec Trench in the southern Pacific Ocean,
The starting section is basically coincident with Zheng He's route, Zhai said, adding that his sail is aimed at rousing Chinese people's awareness of ocean defense and their interest in ocean exploration and culture.
(People?s Daily March 7, 2003)
