The reason why Zheng He's nautical charts have spread to the world is that Confucianism included Mao Yuan Yi in Galla Chinensis at the end of Ming Dynasty. More than 530 place names were recorded in the chart, including 300 foreign place names and the farthest east African coast 16. Cities, islands, navigation marks, beaches, reefs, mountains and air routes are all marked. Nansha Islands, Xisha Islands and zhongsha islands are clearly marked. Later, China named the South Island Reef after Zheng He to commemorate this great navigator.

Zheng He's nautical chart is the earliest existing nautical atlas in the world. Compared with the most representative Portland charts in the west at the same time, Zheng He's nautical charts are wide in scope, rich in content and practical.