- Cheng Ho (1371-1435)
- Led several trips from Nanking to Java, Ceylon, India, Persia, East Africa, and Cambodia (1405-1433)
- Chang Ch’ien (2nd century BCE)
- Pioneered the Silk Road, an overland trade route between China and Europe
- Hsüan Tsang (600-664)
- Made an expedition across China to Tashkent, through India, then to Tibet, and back to Chang’an (629-645)
- I-Ching (634-????)
- Gathered geographical information on a trip from China to Sumatra, Nicobar Islands, the mouth of the Hooghly River, and inland in India (671-695)