2. Formation： The fleet marched forward in anarrowhead-like formation. The core ships， consistingof the ships with “Shuai”-character flags and treasureships， were in the center of the fleet， a safe position fromwhere to issue orders and commands. Surrounded bybattle ships on every side， the fleet could rapidly changeits formation and defend against enemies effectively incase any part was attacked. The horse ships， grain shipsand sitting ships that were designed to carry sailors andgoods were arranged inside the four sides of the fleet andwere protected by battle ships.
The fleet had a convenient communications systemto ensure orderly formation and effective dispatching.Flags served as means of communication in the daytime.Every ship was equipped with one big “sitting-flag，” onesignal strip， 10 mast flags and 50 square-shaped flags.Messages were sent by hanging or waving flags andstrips of different colors. Lanterns were used at night， andsound signals would be adopted if bad weather causedpoor visibility. Each ship carried gongs and drums ofdifferent sizes， which could be used to boost morale inbattle and send messages as well. With these convenientcommunication methods， issuing of such orders such
2.编队队形：船队航行时，以箭镞状队形前进。由帅字号船与宝船组成的中军帐，位于船队核心安全部位，便于对各翼发号施令，实施统一的指挥调度。船队前后左右外围，都由战船队列保护，无论哪一翼受到侵扰，均可迅速调整队列，重新形成迎向敌方的编队，以进行有效的抵御。运载人员、货物为主的马船、粮船与坐船，编排在战船四翼的护航圈内，以保障航行安全。
为了保证编队整齐，进退有致，实施有效的指挥与调度，船队建立了便捷的通讯联络系统。白天航行以旗帜联络。每船有大坐旗1面、号带1条、大桅旗
as marching forward or backward， dining， resting，assembling， anchoring， sailing or turning-around weremade possible.
3. Navigating techniques： Zheng，s fleet inherited andcarried forward the traditional Chinese techniques ofnavigating using sails. Monsoons from Southeast Asia， theNorthern Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea regions werethe major forces that drove ships forward. As many as 12sails were used at one time in the large nine-mast shipsto maximize the force of the wind. Zheng，s fleet furtherdeveloped wind-driven nautical techniques and couldmake full use of the wind from all sides. It was thosemature techniques that ensured the safe voyage of thefleet in the vast ocean.
Painting and application of The Map of Zheng He，sNavigation. Navigation maps were one of the most basicand necessary tools for navigation， especially oceanexpeditions. The Map of Zheng He， Navigation was theearliest picture used for ocean navigation in Chinesehistory. It has been passed down to this today. It covereda wide area， long navigation courses and recordednumerous names of places. Based on traditional Chinesepainting methods， the map， with a scroll roll， stretchedout from right to left. It vividly shows dozens of routesthat started from the Nanjing Treasure Ship Workshop，through the estuary of the Yangtze River to Fujian and
10面、正五方旗50面，通过约定方式悬挂或挥舞各色旗带以互通信息。夜晚航行认灯笼。如遇阴雨迷雾天气，海上能见度差，则改以音响信号联络。每船备有大铜锣、小铜锣、大更鼓、小更鼓若干。这些物件除在作战时擂鼓助威、鸣金收兵外，尚可在夜晚或不良天气下传递音响信号。凭藉如此便捷的通讯联络，即可统一指挥船队的前进、后退、举炊、休息、集合、起锚、扯篷、升帆、抛泊、转向等。
3.航海技术：郑和船队继承并发展了中国传统的利用风帆航行的技术，将东南亚、印度洋北部和阿拉伯海季风区的季风作为航行的主要动力。为了最大限度地利用风力，九桅宝船最多时张12帆。船队发展了