WI: Chinese hot-air balloons

Thande

Donor
I'm beginning to see the infatuation we have with airships and Imperial Chinese airships will be totally awesome.:D

Anyway guys, how far do you think the Chinese will develop these balloons?
Realistically, I'm afraid it might not go further than a curiosity. Imperial Chinese Airships are certainly a cool idea, but it's not as though in OTL the fact that the French invented balloons first meant that they were the first to develop airships. Technological progress often has little to do with who invented the precursor first (also see America and aeroplanes, and Britain and tanks for two more recent examples).

On the other hand, if the Chinese keep the manufacture of their balloons a secret, they could become a fabled secret weapon like Greek fire - useful for intimidating barbarians with their legend, which would be more potent than the weapon itself.
 
Such a cool concept...

Anyway, I think that if the balloons prove their worth, we'd probably see Central Asia staying under Chinese influence for a while. That means more east-west contact and trade between Europe and the Orient.

Spread of ideas will definitely occur as well. Paper, balloons, etc. will spread to the Byzantines and other major trading powers in Europe at the time (Venice?). Hmm... The possibilities are certainly interesting with this WI.
 
Let's see... Central Asia remains predominantly Buddhist, which probably butterflies away the Ottomans and the Moghols. But just as in OTL the Arabs returned from the battle with the recipe for making paper, in TTL they'd return with the concept of the hot air balloon as well. Which the Euopeans will probably become acquainted with during the Crusades...

Ouch... In that case, the Nazca better hold out in Peru a little longer. :p
 
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