By Luke Anami

Kenya’s Lamu town and China’s City of Shanghai have signed an agreement that will see the two collaborate to rediscover their history. The two cities decided to partner after a Chinese merchant ship that sunk six centuries ago was discovered off Lamu’s Pate Island.

"This is a revival of the historic bond between Kenya and China, which dates back 600 years, to when a ship belonging to the Chinese sunk during the Ming dynasty," said Trade Minister Chirau Mwakwere, who led the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Lamu town and Shanghai’s Jing’an District during the ongoing 2010 Expo Shanghai.

The Chinese ship was found with Chinese artifacts, prompting the commissioning of an archaeological mission between the Chinese Government and the National Museums of Kenya (NMK).

Kenya is already in the process of salvaging the ship, in a bid to find out if a group of shipwrecked early Chinese explorers settled on Lamu Island and intermarried with the local people.

The project has been spurred on by the presence of members of the Bajuni community who live in Shanga village, in Lamu’s Pate island, who have bear a striking resemblance to the Chinese people. In fact, Shanga village bears so much Chinese history that some believe it derived its name from the Chinese city of Shanghai.

Confirm links

Its success could confirm 600-year-old links between Kenya and China, dating back to the time of the famous Chinese sailor Zheng, who is believed to have embarked on an expedition to explore the world.

The name of the sunken ship remains unknown, but history records show Chinese navigator, Zheng He, of the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644), commanded seven merchant expeditions to western Indian Ocean between 1405 and 1433.

Zheng He is recognised as a Chinese hero, revered as much as the famous Christopher Columbus. He is highly regarded for opening up the world for the Chinese people.

"Zheng He will always be remembered as a hero who established the Chinese influence across the world," Zhang Ren Liang, District Mayor of Jing’an said when he signed the MoU at his offices in central Shanghai.

"The Chinese are hopeful the project will tell us how much he travelled and historical as well as geographical influence he established in his travels."

"We are happy to add Lamu as our new member to our list of heritage," Ren Liang said when he signed on behalf of the Peoples Republic of China, while Lamu mayor Abdu Kassim Ahmed signed on behalf of Kenya.

The event is of significance to Lamu-Shanghai relations that eventually determine the relationships between the two countries.