Grand ceremonies were held in Mombasa in Kenya on Saturday to welcome a sailing ship that completed a 23,150-kilometer voyage tracing the journey of a prestigious ancient Chinese mariner.

The ship, named the Phoenix, which set out from Taicang in eastern China's Jiangsu Province on Aug. 8 last year, featuring in a TV program initiated by the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV Station, arrived at its destination in Mombasa on March 16.

At the welcoming ceremony Saturday afternoon, captain Weng Yixuan said: "We have come through great difficulties, caught in typhoons and tsunamis. Too many difficulties, but at last we won."

The eight-month journey was to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the beginning of seven voyages of Zheng He, a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Chinese navigator who took large fleets to Southeast Asia, West Asia and East Africa between 1405 and 1433.

At the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Chongli hailed the captain and the two sailors as "courageous heroes."

Kenyan Government officials including the Minister of Culture Ochillo Ayacko, Minister of Tourism Morris Dzoro and Minister of State for National Heritage Najib Balala attended the celebrations.

They congratulated the sailors on their accomplishment, saying that Zheng He was a distinguished guest of the Kenyan people 600 years ago and it was Zheng who developed the first contacts between Kenya and China. They hoped that nowadays there would be more Chinese tourists going to Kenya.

Pioneering the first express sea route through the western Pacific and Indian oceans, Zheng He's voyages were considered early demonstrations of China's peaceful diplomacy and his voyages were respectively 87, 92 and 114 years earlier than those of Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Magellan.

The 12-meter Phoenix passed through ports in various countries, including Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India, Pakistan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Editor: Catherine