By this time， Zheng He was already 60 years old.Though his hair was grey， he still held great ambitionsand gladly accepted to undertake another voyage to thewestern oceans. In early 1431， he set off from dragon bayin Nanjing (now Xiaguan) with his fleet and moored inLiujiagang Port in Taicang for a short time. Soon， a greatfleet of 60 ships sailed south.
This time， the fleet reached more countries and regions
往来渐渐中断，对外贸易渐渐萎缩，海外政治影响渐渐削弱。为了改变这一情况，宣德皇帝于1430年农历六月命令郑和第七次下西洋。
此时郑和已年届花甲，虽头发花白，但仍壮心不已，欣然接受第七次下西洋的任务。1431年初，郑和船队从南京龙湾（今下关）出发，先到太仓刘家港暂泊。不久，60多艘海船组成的庞大船队像过去一样从这里启航，扬帆南下。
此次船队所到国家和地区最多，几乎访遍了南洋、北印度洋沿岸地区以及阿拉伯半岛和非洲东岸诸国。最远到达非洲南端接近莫桑比克海峡的某一处。庞大的船队自苏门答剌便开始分头航行，使团分成几个分团同时访问亚非国家。其中一分团由太监洪保率
than at any other time. It visited Southeast Asia， banksalong the northern Indian ocean， the Arabian peninsulaand countries in eastern Africa. The farthest place theyreached was southern Africa， near the MozambiqueChannel. The fleet was divided into several teams inSumatra and different delegations visited differentcountries in Asia and Africa. Eunuch Hong Bao lead onedelegation to visit Banggela (now Bangladesh). Banggelahad sent multiple envoys loaded with presents to visitChina. Among the many presents they sent to China wasan auspicious beast kylin (a giraffe). Zheng He，s peer， thegreat scholar Shen Du even painted one picture of thekylin offered by Banggela in 1414， which is still populartoday. During Zheng He，s voyage to the western oceans，ministers from the Ming Dynasty were especially excitedwhen they saw the giraffe sent by Banggela. Many ofthem wrote poetry about it and sixteen poetry anthologieswere published. When Zheng He，s fleet visited Calicut inNovember 1432， Calicut sent people to Tianfang (whichheld present-day Mecca) in a pilgrimage. Upon learningof this plan， Zheng He also dispatched seven people，including translator Ma Huan， to accompany them.Tianfang was a cradle of Islam. Every year the countrywould receive lots of pilgrims. A magnificent mosquethat looked like multi-floored pagoda was built usingmulti-colored stones. The girder and roof were built with
领访问榜葛剌国（今孟加拉）。榜葛剌国曾多次遣使访问中国，赠送许多礼物，其中最引起中国朝野注目的是瑞兽麒麟（长颈鹿）。郑和同时代人、翰林院侍讲学士沈度于1414年绘有《榜葛剌进麒麟图》，流传至今。郑和下西洋期间，明朝文武百官见到海外诸国进献瑞兽麒麟，激动无比，纷纷填词赋诗，后来结集出版诗集《瑞应麒麟诗》达16册之多。
1432年十一月郑和率领的船队访问古里时，正值古里国派人去天方（麦加）朝觐，郑和获知情况后也派通事（翻译）马欢等七人同行。天方国是伊斯兰教大国，又是该教发祥之地，每年从各国各地来此朝圣的伊斯兰教徒很多，十分热闹。这里有雄伟壮丽的清真寺，它像多层大宝塔一样，用各色彩石砌成，以沉香木做梁和顶，大殿里燃着香料，寺内馨香缭绕，虔诚的穆斯林祈祷如仪。天方国街道整齐宽
eaglewood. Spice was lighted in the palace and piousprayers crowded in. The streets in Tianfang were spaciousand tidy. Many people from different countries came hereto do businesses.
Tianfang is in a semitropical area and is warmthroughout all four seasons. People there were veryhospitable. Ma Huan and other people of the delegationwere well treated. They bought kylins， lions， ostriches andother treasures. They also painted a picture of a paradise，which they brought back. When the delegation left，Tianfang sent envoys with Ma Huan to visit China.
Zheng He，s biggest hope was to make a pilgrimage toTianfang， but unfortunately he was not quite himself atthe time and had to give up the idea. It was a great regretfor such a man not to be able to realize this dream.
Zheng He，s fleet visited Calicut again on the wayback home. By then， Zheng He was 62 years old andfell gravely ill due to overwork. At the beginning of thefourth lunar month in 1433， this great navigator who haddevoted almost 30 years to his craft， passed away on hisgorgeous boat on the sea near Calicut on the west bankof South India. Zheng He， a favorite of the sea， strived atsea， achieved success on the sea and finally passed awayon the sea， and found his final resting place at the bottomof the ocean. Because of the death of chief ambassadorZheng He， the fleet cut short the time spent overseas
敞，市容繁华，世界各地来此经商者很多。
天方国地处亚热带，四时温暖如春，人民淳朴好客。马欢等中国使团人员受到天方国人民的欢迎。他们在当地购得麒麟、狮子、鸵鸟及其他珍宝，还绘制了一张《天堂图》带回来。当使团离开时，天方国派使臣随马欢等人访问中国。
去天方朝觐一直是郑和最大的心愿，但不幸的是此时郑和身体状况欠佳，心有余力而不足了。一代航海英豪未能遂愿赴天方朝觐，后人无不为之感慨。
郑和船队返航途中又到古里。此时，郑和因操劳过度一病不起。这位在海上奋斗近30年的伟大航海
and returned home under the command of another chiefambassador Wang Jinghong， who was a court eunuch. Onthe way back， some boats of the fleet stopped in Taiwan.Since then， many tales to the eunuch named Sanbaoemerged in Taiwan， like Sanbao ginger in FengshanCounty of Taiwan. It is said that the Sanbao ginger wasbrought there by the eunuch name Sanbao and can curemany illnesses. Zheng He，s fleet returned to Nanjingduring the seventh lunar month of 1433， putting an end tothe seventh voyage to the western oceans which lasted forone and a half years.
Zheng He，s seven voyages profoundly influencedpeople in countries along the western oceans. Inparticular， many people in southeast countries consideredthe eunuch named Sanbao as a deity.
A huge number of temples were built in SoutheastAsian countries to commemorate Zheng He. Many folkfairs were held in each year to honor Zheng He and manymyths and legends have raised Zheng He，s reputationand spread among people. All of these illustrate thesignificance of Zheng He，s fleet， which visited westernoceans and made active and profound influences to Asiancountries for a long time.
家，于1433年农历四月初，在印度南部西海岸卡利卡特附近海上的宝船中病逝，终年62岁。这位海之骄子，奋斗在海上，成功在海上，最终殉职于海上，安息在大海的怀抱之中。
由于正使郑和的逝世，郑和船队便缩短了在海外逗留的时间，由另一正使太监王景弘指挥回航。回航途中，部分船只到台湾作了短暂停留。从此，台湾就有不少关于三保太监的传说，如台湾凤山县有三保姜，相传为三保太监传入，可治多病。郑和船队于1433年农历七月回到南京，从而结束了历时一年半的第七次下西洋的出访活动。
郑和七次出使，在西洋各国人民中留下了深远的影响。尤其东南亚许多国家的人们把三宝太监视为神灵，建庙奉祀，数百年来香火不断，民间流传着有关三宝太监的许多动人故事。马来西亚槟城附近海珠屿的大伯公庙的碑文说：“南洋言神，辄称三宝大神，或云三宝即太监郑和也。”郑和在南洋华侨中被尊为“护侨之神”。
东南亚国家建有如此众多的纪念郑和的庙宇，每年举办如此众多的祭祀郑和的民间庙会，流传如此众多的赞颂郑和的神话传说，从一个侧面反映了郑和下西洋对亚非国家产生的积极影响之深之巨之久。
