China: An ocean-going junk with listings of the sea route from China to Japan, c. 1850

A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty (206 BCÐ220 AD) and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages. They were found, and in lesser numbers are still found, throughout South-East Asia and India, but primarily in China, perhaps most famously in Hong Kong. (Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)