China began its first underwater archaeological studies on ancient building relics shortly after 8a.m. this morning at Fuxian Lake, in southwestern China's Yunnan Province.
It's also China's first underwater archaeological studies on any lake, first time when robots are utilized in archaeological activities, and the first time to offer on-the-spot TV reporting on underwater archaeological studies.
Zhang Wei, head of China's archaeological team, said he is quite confident of the activity. "This is a new challenge, but we are well-prepared," he said.
More than 150 reporters arrived at the lakeside before 7 a.m. this morning to observe the historic archaeological activity, which aims to reveal the secrets of Fuxian Lake from various aspects.
Established in the mid-1980s, China's underwater archaeological team now consists of 26 members, 14 of which arrived here today.
With some three million square kilometers of water area, China is very rich in underwater cultural relics, particularly because China, in ancient times, boasted of the world's biggest commercial fleets.
(Xinhua 06/03/2001)
