Zheng He Memorial Hall (Taicang Zhenghe Park)

Zheng He Memorial Hall (Taicang Zhenghe Park)

Zhenghe Park is situated in the Taicang Port Development Zone, covering an area of 122 hectares. The overall architectural style emphasizes restoring the maritime history and culture of Zheng He’s fleet, while integrating modern design concepts. It recreates the grand achievement of Zheng He commanding the world's largest and most advanced fleet on his seven expeditions to the Western Seas. It is Taicang City’s first theme park and a new type of comprehensive riverside park that is "multi-element integrated" and "experiential."

The park features eleven hills, a main entrance plaza, a musical fountain, a bronze statue of Zheng He, the Zheng He Treasure Ship, the Zheng He Memorial Hall, and ten other projects that showcase the exotic cultures encountered during Zheng He’s seven voyages. The architectural style combines the restoration of the maritime history of Zheng He’s fleet with modern design elements. The exotic culture zone recreates historical relics and customs from the countries and regions Zheng He visited during his seven expeditions, mainly including seven major structures representing Malacca, Java, Calicut, Melinde, northern and southern Ceylon, Hormuz, and Mecca, covering an area of 3,300 square meters.

The most prominent and commemorative attraction in Zhenghe Park is the Zheng He Memorial Hall. Centered around the spirit of Zheng He, it showcases the maritime culture of Zheng He’s voyages from various perspectives, highlighting the characteristics of Taicang—the starting point of Zheng He’s seven journeys to the Western Seas. Utilizing cutting-edge sound, light, and electric technology in China, the perfect combination of exhibition impact and interactive practicality allows visitors to vividly experience Zheng He’s nearly thirty-year voyage to the Western Seas.

The bronze statue of Zheng He stands 18 meters tall and weighs over 50 tons. Holding a nautical chart, Zheng He stands tall and graceful at the ancient anchorage in the Yangtze River estuary where his fleet set sail on the seven voyages to the Western Seas. The statue is both majestic and elegant, grand and solemn. It is made up of more than one hundred tin-bronze plates welded together. The replicated No. 2 Zheng He Treasure Ship, also known as the “2,000-liao Zheng He Treasure Ship,” is 71.1 meters long and 14.05 meters wide. It was built to commemorate July 11, 1405, the day Zheng He set sail from Taicang on his first voyage. The ship’s stern has three levels, nearly 18 meters high, and the mast stands 38 meters tall, symbolizing the 38 countries and regions Zheng He visited.

Scenic Address: 200 meters east of the intersection of South Ring Road and Binjiang Avenue, Taicang City, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province

Transportation: From Taicang or Taicang Fuchiao, Liuhe, transfer to port-area buses or taxis to reach the park.

Driving Route: Enter Taicang via Hutai Road – Hutuhuang First-Class Highway – South Ring Road – at the intersection of South Ring Road and Binjiang Road, take the Sujiaotai Expressway – exit at Shuangfeng, head toward Shuangfeng – National Highway 204 – Xingang Road – Hutuhuang First-Class Highway – South Ring Road – at the intersection of South Ring Road and Binjiang Road.

Address: Inside Zhenghe Park, No. 2 South Ring Road, Fuqiao Town, Taicang City, Suzhou

Type: Museum / Memorial Hall

Recommended Visit Duration: About 1 hour

Phone: 0512-53611908

Opening Hours:

Monday–Sunday, 9:00–16:20

Zheng He was born in the fourth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1371), originally named Ma Sanbao. In the winter of 1381, the 13th year of Hongwu, the Ming army attacked Yunnan. At the age of 10, Ma Sanbao was captured by Ming forces, castrated, and became a eunuch, later entering the service of Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan. During the Jingnan Rebellion, Ma Sanbao distinguished himself in battle for Prince Zhu Di at Zhengzhou in Hebei (located north of present-day Renqiu, Hebei—not Zhengzhou, Henan). In the second year of the Yongle era (1404), the Ming Emperor Chengzu, Zhu Di, decreed that the surname Ma could not be used in the imperial palace, so he bestowed the surname “Zheng” upon Ma Sanbao, who was then renamed He. He was appointed as an inner eunuch supervisor, eventually rising to the fourth rank of officialdom... More detailed information about Zheng He++