Cochin has a humid temperature and plenty of rainfall.About half of the days in any given year are rainy andthe other half sunny. The country teems with spices andis known as the “the State of Spices.” Spices， pearls andgems were the country，s three major exports. Cochinbusinessmen traded with Zheng He，s fleet.
After departing from Cochin， some of the vessels fromZheng He，s fleet sailed to Ganbali (today，s Cape Comarinon the southern tip of Indian Peninsula) and Ababadan(today，s Ahmedabad， India) for a visit. Most of the vesselssailed southward to Xilanshan (today，s Sri Lanka).
Xilanshan was called Simghala in ancient times. It waslocated in the sea to the south of the Indian Peninsula andwas a communications center for offshore traffic betweenthe Pacific Ocean and West Asia， Europe and Africa. It wasa place had to be passed by east-to-west shipping lines.In its first voyage， Zheng He，s fleet arrived in Xilanshan.The king of Xilanshan was arrogant and wanted to takeadvantage of Zheng He. Zheng He felt this and decidedto leave the country. Despite this， Zheng He still visitedXilanshan with a letter of credence from Emperor Yongleand gifts， hoping to establish friendly ties with thecountry. Zheng He gave gold and silver， silk， incense and
队进行交易。
郑和船队离开柯枝国后，分出部分船只至甘巴里(今印度半岛南端的科摩林角)、阿拔巴丹（今印度的阿默达巴德）进行访问，主船队则南下来到锡兰山 (今斯里兰卡) 访问。
锡兰山，为古代僧伽罗国，在印度半岛南面的大海之中，扼太平洋与西亚、欧非之间海上交通的要冲，是古代东西航线必经之道。郑和第一次下西洋时，船队就曾到达锡兰山，国王亚烈苦奈儿傲慢不
candles to many temples in the country， and set up a stonestele on the first day of February of 1409 in the traditionalChinese calendar. The Stele for Donation to Temples inXilanshan was engraved in three languages-Chinese，Persian and Tamil. Besides recording the articles donated，the words in three different languages expressed praisefrom Zheng He and other envoys of the Ming Dynasty fortheir contributions to Buddhism， Islam and Hinduism.
The expression of praise to the three religions in threelanguages on one stele reflected Zheng He，s respect tothe religious belief of all western countries and his tenetof establishing a peaceful international environment anddeveloping business and trade， promoting China andforeign economic and cultural exchanges by spreadingthe peaceful diplomatic policies of the Ming Dynastythrough religious activities. The stele showcased thefriendly policies of China in Ming Dynasty to the worldand enhanced China，s influence in overseas countries. Thestele is now stored at the National Museum of Colombo inSri Lanka.
After completing his visit to Xilanshan， Zheng Hereturned China through the Strait of Malacca and arrivedin Nanjing in June 1409 of the traditional Chinesecalendar. The voyage lasted one year and six to sevenmonths.
恭，并欲加害郑和。郑和觉察后，隐忍而离去。尽管如此，此次郑和仍怀着睦邻友好的善良愿望，带着永乐皇帝的国书和布施的礼品来到锡兰山进行友好访问。郑和向该国多座佛寺布施了金钱银钱、丝绢绸缎、香炉蜡烛等物品，并于1409年农历二月初一日刻石立碑，以记其事。这块《布施锡兰山佛寺碑》用汉文、波斯文和泰米尔文三种文字镌刻。三种文字除同样记载布施的物品之外，还分别表达了郑和等中国明朝使臣对佛教、伊斯兰教和印度教功德的赞扬。
一块石碑上，用三种文字表达对三种宗教的颂扬，既表现了郑和对出使的西洋各国崇信宗教的尊重，也反映出郑和希冀通过宗教活动宣传明王朝的和平外交政策，建立和平安定的国际环境和发展商贸、促进中外经济文化交流的主旨。这块石碑向世界显示了明代中国的富有与奉行的睦邻友好的政策，扩大了中国在海外各国的影响。此石碑现存于斯里兰卡科伦坡博物馆。
郑和结束锡兰山的访问后，经马六甲海峡返航回国，于1409年农历六月回到南京。此次历时约一年零六七个月。
The third voyage to the western oceans (1409-1411)
In his first two voyages， Zheng He established friendlyties with many countries in Southeast Asia. Aimingto reinforce and develop those ties， Emperor Yonglehad started planning a third voyage before Zheng Hereturned from his second. Shortly after Zheng He，s returnto Nanjing， he started the third voyage with more than27，000 seamen， 48 large vessels and more than 100 othervessels.
That September， Zheng He，s fleet departed fromthe Liujiagang Port and arrived at the Taiping Port， inChangle， Fujian Province. In December， the fleet sailedfrom Wuhumen. A total of 48 huge vessels with 12 sailseach sailed for 12 days and arrived in the Xinzhou Portof Zhancheng (in today，s Quy Nhon， Vietnam). At thattime， the Government of Ming Dynasty had successfullystopped an invasion to Zhancheng by Annan and helpedZhancheng take back the lands occupied by Annan.Therefore， the king of Zhancheng led officials of thecountry to welcome the envoys from the Ming Dynastyoutside the city. The king wore gold flower crowns onhis head and five-colored dresses， rode a huge elephantand was surrounded by an honor guard of over 500people. Some members of the honor guard held swordsand spears， some waved leather plates， some beat drums
第三次下西洋（1409-1411）
郑和两次下西洋之后，东南亚许多国家与中国建立了友好关系。为了巩固和发展这些关系，永乐皇帝在郑和第二次下西洋回国前，就确定了第三次下西洋的计划，并为此作好了各项准备。郑和回到南京没有休息多久，便于1409年农历九月统领船员27000余人，驾驶大型宝船48艘及其他船只100多艘第三次出使西洋。
当年九月，郑和船队从刘家港出发，十月到达福建长乐太平港，十二月从五虎门扬帆出海，每艘挂帆12张的巨大宝船48艘顺风疾驶12个昼夜，首站仍抵占城国的新州港（今越南归仁）。此时，明朝政府已成功制止了安南对占城的侵略，帮助占城收复了被安南侵占的大片土地。所以占城国王亲率大小官员出城迎接明朝使者。国王头戴三山金花冠，身穿五色礼服，披着锦花毛巾，骑着大象，前后簇拥着500多人的仪仗队。他们有的手拿刀枪，有的舞着皮牌、捶着鼓，有的吹起柳笛，向使团表达敬意和欢迎；欢乐情景胜过节日。当郑和向国王宣读永乐皇帝的诏书，并对国王和其属臣进行赏赐时，占城国王恭敬地翻身下象接受
and others played the flute to express their respect andwelcome the envoys. When Zheng He announced theimperial decrees of Emperor Yongle and gave gifts tothe king and officials， the king of Zhancheng got off theelephant and accepted the gifts deferentially. A grandwelcome ceremony was then held at the palace. Accordingto local tradition， people drank with bamboo suckersaround a big vat and talked about the friendship of thetwo countries.
Zheng He，s fleet then left Zhancheng for a visit toZhenla. The fleet also visited the Angkor Ancient Relics240 kilometers away from Phnompenh and learnt muchabout Buddhist architecture. These trips later providedan important reference to Zheng He，s construction of theNanjing Grand Bao，en Temple and the Glazed Pagodawhen he governed Nanjing.
Zheng He，s fleet left Zhenla and sailed southward.After a short visit to Temasek (today，s Singapore)， the fleetturned and sailed westward and arrived in Manlajia.
