Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.

A watercraft or waterborne vessel is any vehicle designed for travel across or through water bodies, such as a boat, ship, hovercraft, submersible or submarine.

Fernão Pires de Andrade was a Portuguese merchant, pharmacist, and diplomat who worked under the explorer and colonial administrator Afonso de Albuquerque. His encounter with Ming China in 1517—after initial contacts by Jorge Álvares and Rafael Perestrello in 1513 and 1516, respectively—marked the resumption of direct European commercial and diplomatic contact with China.

The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in official documents, the region is one of the most densely populated and urbanized regions in the world, and is considered a megacity by numerous scholars. It is currently the wealthiest region in Southern China and one of the wealthiest regions in China along with the Yangtze River Delta in Eastern China and Jingjinji in Northern China. Most of the region is part of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, which is a special economic zone of China.