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Over a history of 5,000 years, Chinese people have produced numerous inventions. These include traditional Chinese medicine, silk, porcelain, the compass, paper, printing, and gunpowder. Some ancient landmarks also bear witness to Chinese people's creativity, such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
At the same time, the Chinese people have always kept an open heart toward friends and cultures from other lands. The prosperity of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), for example, was largely due to Emperor Taizong's (r. 627-649) open attitude toward the outside world. In the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424) sent envoys to the Western Seas on seven long voyages. They reached as far as Mecca in West Asia and Mozambique in Africa. Wherever the Chinese travelers went, they carried out material and cultural exchanges under the principle of spreading peace.
