Nanhai-1 is believed to be the first ancient vessel discovered on the "Marine Silk Road" of the South China Sea, spurring China to preserve its underwater cultural relics lying along the ancient maritime trade routes.
As one of the oldest and largest medieval vessels sailing on the trade route, Nanhai-1 was found off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong in 1987.
The Underwater Archaeology Research Center of China (UARCC) was established and the country's first underwater archeology team soon followed in an attempt to prevent Nanhai-1 from becoming another Chinese ancient shipwreck falling into the hands of foreign treasure hunters.
By 2001, China's underwater archaeological team had 40 members, making it possible to resume full excavation of Nanhai-1.
In December 2007, the UARCC had to lift Nanhai-1 out of water because the sea in which it had sunk was too dark for divers to see and recover the artifacts. The ship today sits in a museum in Guangdong.
It was when UARCC was busy preparing to pull out Nanhai-1 that divers found Nan'ao-1, Cui says.
Unlike Nanhai-1, Nan'ao-1 is located in waters shallow enough to allow archaeologists to lift its wreckage directly from the seabed in the daylight.
The in-situ salvage effort on Nan'ao-1 is turning out to be as challenging as lifting Nanhai-1 out of the water entirely, says Cui.
By Lin Shujuan
Editor: Feng Hui
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