To mark China Maritime Day, which falls on tomorrow this year, today we will talk about China's Maritime Industry. China has 3 million square kilometers of seawater under its control. With abundant oceanic resources, the country has engaged in all kinds of maritime activities and developed an ancient maritime history and culture.
 
In the second century BC, the well-known Marine Silk Road was opened to develop trade relations with foreign countries. It was the earliest maritime trading route in the world. In the following centuries, the marine Silk Road linked China with dozens of countries and played a vital role in promoting economic and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
 
On July 11, 1405, during the Ming Dynasty, Chinese navigator Zheng He led a fleet of more than 200 vessels on his first overseas expedition. Within three decades, Zheng He made seven trips to over 30 countries. His voyages took place six decades before Christopher Columbus sailed to America and Vasco da Gama's trip to India.
 
Since the era of great geographical discovery, marine navigation underwent rapid development in Western countries. But the Chinese feudal rulers adopted a closed-door policy and forbade maritime activities, making China's marine development lag behind that of the Western countries.

After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the shipping industry developed and expanded quickly.

Today, China has become one of the world's biggest shipbuilders. 

Since the 1990s, China's marine industries have seen rapid development and made bigger contribution to the country's GDP growth. Over the past decade, the country’s total oceanic production value has recorded an average annual growth rate of 16 percent.

The marine economy has become a new engine for the nation's development, but at the same time, the marine ecological system has been degrading. As increased use of the sea for economic gain threatens the marine environment, China has paid more attention to maintaining a balance between plundering the oceans abundant resources and protecting the marine environment.
 
To promote China's oceanic culture and raise public awareness of marine protection, on July 11, 2005, when China commemorated the 600th anniversary of Zheng He’s virgin overseas voyage, the country designated July 11 as the national Maritime Day.

Oceanic culture has become a systematical study in the country. Many universities have set up independent departments to study and explore oceanic cultures, maritime museums have been set up around the country, and some coastal cities have organized annual marine cultural festivals to promote the concept of living in harmony with the ocean.