Recovering a 400-year-old Sunken Treasure

A glazed green plate recovered from Nanhai No.1.

    An operation to raise an ancient ship called Nan'ao No.1 got underway recently on the sea between the Wuyu Islet and Banchao Reef in Nan'ao County, Shantou City, Guangdong Province.

    The vessel, which is 25.5 meters long and 7 meters wide, contains more than 10,000 pieces of blue and white porcelain.

    Archaeologists believe that the treasures onboard, which include plates, pots and bottles, can be dated back to the Wanli Reign (1573-1620) of the Ming Dynasty.

    This is China's second salvage operation at sea, following the successful recovery two years ago of Nanhai No.1, a Southern Song (1127-1279) ship also loaded with porcelain.