The Muslim admiral
The Ming fleet commander who reached Arabia.
Chongkian — CC BY-SA 4.0 · O.Mustafin — CC0 · O.Mustafin — CC0 · O.Mustafin — CC0
A museum about the life of Admiral Zheng He, the Ming dynasty's Muslim naval commander, who led vast fleets in the fifteenth century to Southeast Asia, India, Arabia and the coast of Africa, and called at Malacca several times, making it a base for his voyages. It is a story Arab visitors take to, as his ships reached the ports of Arabia. The museum opened in 2006 in eight old shophouses, some built before 1786, over three floors, and is believed to stand on the site of the warehouses where Zheng He stored the goods of his voyages some six hundred years ago; five Ming-era wells were found here. It shows models of his giant ships, maps of his voyages and displays on the old trade between China and Malacca. Entry is about twenty ringgit per adult and ten per child. It is in the old town near the Malacca River, a few minutes from Jonker Street. Allow about an hour, and make it part of an old-town walk with the historic mosques nearby, to complete the picture of Malacca as a meeting point of traders from China, India and the Muslim world.
The Ming fleet commander who reached Arabia.
Ming-era wells found on the spot.
Models of the fifteenth-century fleets.
Old town, near the Malacca River
Jonker Street Night MarketEvery Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening Jonker Street closes to cars and turns1 minute walk4.4
Christ Church, MalaccaThe red building at the front of most photographs of Malacca stands in Dutch Squ2 minutes walk4.6
Stadthuys and Dutch SquareEverything around you is red: the Stadthuys, completed by the Dutch around 1650 2 minutes walk4.5
Sri Poyatha Moorthi TempleThe oldest Hindu temple still in use in Malaysia, built in 1781 by the leader of2 minutes walk
Church of St Francis XavierA twin-towered neo-Gothic Catholic church overlooking the Malacca River a few mi3 minutes walkA Chinese Muslim admiral of the early fifteenth century who led seven great voyages reaching India, Arabia and Africa, and called at Malacca repeatedly, helping it flourish as a trading port.