Act II: China
The Chinese campaign in The Asian Dynasties is a fictional adventure loosely built around the 1421 hypothesis that a Chinese fleet reached the Americas before Columbus. Its five scenarios follow Admiral Jinhai and his companions on an expedition across unfamiliar lands.
Setting & story
Play as the Chinese through a linked sequence of campaign scenarios. The story uses a historical claim as a fictional premise, while each mission sets its own opponents and objectives; consult the scenario pages for those specific goals.
Campaign structure
Choose this act for the Chinese civilization’s campaign story. It can be started independently of Act I: Japan and Act III: India.
Chinese campaign premise and structure
Act II: China is the Chinese campaign in The Asian Dynasties. The story uses the 1421 hypothesis—that a Chinese fleet reached the Americas before Columbus—as a fictional adventure premise. It follows Admiral Jinhai and his companions on a five-scenario expedition across unfamiliar lands. The premise belongs to the game’s narrative and should be understood as campaign fiction rather than a description of standard Chinese skirmish mechanics. Each scenario supplies its own opponents, map, starting force and victory conditions, so read the objective panel at the beginning of each chapter. The campaign can be started independently of Act I: Japan and Act III: India. Mission pages are the place for exact walkthroughs and optional goals; the act entry provides the story sequence and context. Chinese units and technologies remain useful reference material, but campaign scripting can change what is available. Protect named characters when the mission depends on them, and complete the required objective before pursuing optional exploration. The sequence is intended to be played as a connected story, with each chapter advancing the expedition led by Jinhai.
Using the act entry with mission pages
The five-scenario campaign is a narrative sequence rather than a freeform Chinese skirmish. Admiral Jinhai and his companions travel through unfamiliar territory under a fictional interpretation of the 1421 hypothesis. Each mission’s starting resources and victory conditions are scripted, so consult its own entry for route details and optional objectives. The act page is useful for the overall premise and campaign order; it should not be used as a substitute for mission-specific walkthroughs. The story can be selected independently of the Japanese and Indian acts, and completing a chapter advances the expedition. Keep named characters with their force and read the objective tracker before committing to an attack or exploration detour. Standard Chinese Wonder and unit pages describe normal multiplayer mechanics, but campaign scripting may alter availability.
Fictional expedition
The campaign’s 1421 premise is a narrative device. Its missions should be read as fictionalized adventure scenarios, each with separate starting forces and objectives, rather than as standard Chinese gameplay.
Independent campaign start
Players can begin the Chinese act without completing the Japanese or Indian acts first. Its five scenarios follow Admiral Jinhai’s expedition and supply their own objectives.
Four-scenario Chinese campaign arc
Act II: China is the four-scenario Asian Dynasties campaign that follows the Chinese expedition from the first rescue through the final mutiny. A Rescue in the Wilderness asks the player to stop a prisoner convoy and free captured shipmates; the later scenarios build on that journey and lead to No Empire Lasts Forever. Each mission uses scenario-specific forces and objectives, so ordinary Chinese unit access should not be assumed for every stage. In the final scenario, recover the crew at the northern beaches before destroying the Mutineer Town Centers; the cave route is optional. Read the individual mission pages for their exact objective sequence and rewards. The act overview connects the narrative while keeping the scripted scenario rules distinct from standard skirmish play.