In 1414 sailors from the east African city of Malindi presented a very extraordinary present to the emperor of China. The ruler of Malindi ordered his ambassadors to tranship a giraffe to China. Giraffes can only be found in Africa. When the Malindi sailors unveiled this creature at the imperial court the court officials gathered closer “to gaze at it and their joy knew no end.” The emperor was so impressed with the gift that he ordered a calligrapher named Shen Tu to paint the animal. This famous painting now sits in the National Palace Museum of Taipei. The painting contains classical Chinese characters retelling the story of the giraffe being transported and presented to the court by African ambassadors. These African ambassadors were “Swahili” meaning “people of the coastline”. Strong trade links were established between the Swahili of East Africa and other nations. The Swahili became very wealthy due to these trade links.On any given day, Swahili sailors could be seen loading their large ships with gold, iron, ivory and coconuts, and unloading from them textiles and jewelry from India and exquisite porcelain from China. The Swahili also saw ships from China and other nations pulling into their harbors.These east African cities had developed into affluent thriving cosmopolitan cultures due to this trade.