FAQ

Did China have trade links with Kerala hundreds of years ago?

Trade between China and Kerala flourished between 1125 CE and 1498 CE. The Arabs from the West traded goods with the wares that the Chinese brought from the far East. 

There are Chinese household items still in use in Kerala like Cheena chatty (Chinese woks), Cheena Bharani (Chinese jar), the iconic Cheena vala (Chinese fishing net) and Cheena pattu (Chinese silk). And, of course, the famous spice route connecting China and Kerala.

Well before navigators like Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama, a Chinese fleet admiral Zheng He, an explorer from the Ming dynasty visited Kozhikode in 1403 CE with his fleet of more than 20,000 men.