3000 Riels Voyages of Zheng He - Ship

Zheng He's seven expeditions between 1405 and 1433 represented the largest maritime fleet the pre-modern world had seen — some vessels reportedly exceeding 400 feet, dwarfing anything contemporary European powers were building. The voyages were abruptly terminated after Yongle Emperor's death, and China's subsequent isolationist turn meant the entire program was essentially erased from official policy, the shipyards mothballed, and the records deliberately suppressed by the Confucian bureaucracy that outlived it.

Cambodia's 2005 commemorative series tapped into renewed international interest following Gavin Menzies' contested 2002 book, which had pushed Zheng He back into popular consciousness across Southeast Asia.