Ｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｓｐｉｒｉｔ ｏｆ Ｚｈｅｎｇ Ｈｅ

The Boeing [NYSE:BA] 777-200LR Worldliner， the world's longestrange commercial airplane， was offi-cially named \"Zheng He\" at Beijing'sCapital International Airport during aceremony to commemorate the sevenincredible voyages by the great Chinesenavigator and explorer Zheng He.

This year marks the 600th anniver-sary of Zheng He's first voyage and isbeing celebrated with a series of offi-cial commemorations. The achieve-ments of Zheng He represented a majorstep forward by bringing people fromthe ends of the earth closer together. Al-though varying in time and space， ZhengHe's sailboats and the Boeing 777-200LR similarly utilize state-of-the-arttechnologies that help fulfill mankind'sdream of connecting the world. Boeinghas dedicated the Beijing arrival of theworld's longest-range commercial air-plane to Zheng He on its latest stop onthe 777-200LR \"Going the Distance\"world tour.

'2 feel extremely excited to be partof today's commemorating ceremony，\"said Nicole Piasecki， Executive VicePresident， Business Strategy and Mar-keting， Boeing Commercial Airplanes.\"Six centuries ago， Zheng He pushed thephysical limits of navigation beyondwhat the world thought possible. But hisgreatest achievement was to bring somany people， countries， cultures andeconomies together.\" Piasecki contin-ued， \"Zheng He's name is synonymouswith exploration， human ingenuity， andthe spirit of friendship and internationalexchange.\"

Over 200 people from the SteeringCommittee of the Conference for Com-memorating the 600th Anniversary ofZheng He's Voyages led by the Minis-try of Communications， the State Coun-cil Information Office， Ministry of For-eign Affairs， CAAC， Chinese airlines，local and international media attendedthe ceremony and witnessed the nam-ing of \"Zheng He\" at Asia's most mod-em four-plane hangar in Ameco Beijing.

Boeing presented a Boeing 777-200LR model to the Steering Commit-tee， which reciprocated with memorialstamps and envelopes depicting ZhengHe's voyages issued on the same day. Amodel of Zheng He's original flagshipwas escorted onto the Boeing 777-200LR to represent the spirit of ZhengHe and accompany the 777-200LR forthe remainder of its world tour. Chinesegovernment officials， airlines represen-tatives， local and international mediawere invited to tour the Boeing 777-200LR to experience first-hand theplane's state-of-the-art technology andinterior design.

Former Vice Minister Lin Zuyifrom the Steering Committee said， \"Sixcenturies ago， our great navigatorZheng He of the Ming dynasty startedhis first voyage， and successfully ac-complished seven incredible voyagesin the following 28 years. This was amarvelous event in the history of man-kind to explore the world and chart thesea. Boeing has developed its philoso-phy of 'Forever New Frontiers' in itsown history， which is very similar toZheng He's spirit of exploration. It isextremely meaningful for Boeing toname its newest model 'Zheng He'， andits world tour \"Going the Distance'. Webelieve that Zheng He's reputation willbe reinforced through the naming of theairplane and its world tour. The airplanetour will also bring our wish for friend-ship， peace， and development to theworld， to let the world know Zheng He，China， and Boeing.\"

Director General Jiang Weiqiangfrom the Department of International Af-fairs of the State Council InformationOffice also offered his congratulations forthe naming and 777-200LR's world tour.

The tour which began in Canada lastmonth and included a week at the ParisAir show， will visit more than 20 citiesthrough August. General Electric Air-craft Engines， Bose， Thales，AeroMobile， Motorola and Teague， areamong Boeing's tour partners.

The 777-200LR， capable of con-necting virtually any two cities in theworld non-stop， is the fifth 777 model.In service it can carry 301 passengersand baggage up to 9，420 nautical miles(17，445 kilometers) -- a non-stop dis-tance roughly Beijing to Seattle andback.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)is to receive the first 777-200LRWorldliner in January 2006. Three air-lines have ordered or announced com-mitments for the 777-200LR， includingPIA， EVA Air， and Air India.

The tour airplane's cabin demon-strates new and innovative features thatenhance the 777's reputation as the mostcomfortable and passenger-preferredairplane. Also advances in safety， effi-ciency and security such as the BoeingElectronic Flight Bag are evident.

Later this year， the Worldliner willattempt to set a new world record for non-stop distance traveled by a commercialairplane. The current record -- 10，823nautical miles (20，044 kilometers) -- wasset in 1997 by the Boeing 777-200ER(Extended Range). Details of the recordflight， during which the Worldliner is tofly for approximately 24 hours， will bereleased in the weeks ahead.