A native sailing vessel common to the Far East Seas developed about the same time the Norse long boat and the Roman galleys. The Chinese developed one of the strongest and most seaworthy vessels in existence: the junk, which is still used by the people of Southeast Asia.

Junks are efficient and sturdy ships that were traveling across oceans as early as the 2nd century AD. They incorporated numerous technical advances in sail plan and hull designs that were later adopted in Western shipbuilding. The historian H. Warington Smith considered the junk as one of the most efficient of ship designs: "As an engine for carrying man and his commerce upon the high and stormy seas as well as on the vast inland waterways, it is doubtful if any class of vessel is more suited or better adapted to its purpose than the Chinese junk, and it is certain that for flatness of sail and handiness, the Chinese rig is unsurpassed." (H. Warington Smith) More.

By the 9th century AD, Chinese junks were carrying merchants to Indonesia and India. By the 15th century, junks were sailing to East Africa. In the 18th and 19th century, the largest junks were as large as the square-rigged ship around 3,000 to 4,000 tons deadweight

The junks were also used for many years as the general warship of the Chinese.

The design of the Chinese junk is perfected during the later part of the Song dynasty, when the loss of the northern empire increases the importance of overseas trade. A merchant fleet and a navy to defend it, become essential. The resulting junk is an ideal craft for South China seas. More.