China has long been keen on protecting and displaying its rich treasure of cultural relics. Now, the country is set to exercise better protection on those that are lying deep under the sea. Recently, a wide investigation has been launched on underwater cultural heritages within the country's maritime area.

 

The investigation will involve China's coastal provinces such as Hainan, Guangdong, and Shandong. These provincial authorities are organizing in-depth searches and excavations in their respective sea regions, in an attempt to sketch out the general situation under the sea.

Headline projects include the excavation of the ancient capsized ship "Nan Ao" and a broad study on the legendary "Silk Road on the Sea". China is also seeking further cooperation with other countries in the area of underwater archaeology.

Until the 1980's, underwater archaeology was not pursued by China. But the discovery of a six-hundred-year-old sunken ship in 1987 broke the ice, spurring on remarkable progress over the past two decades. Now, this particular genre of archaeology has expanded its research scope from offshore to more distant sea areas.