More than 800 years ago, an ocean-going merchant ship sank in waters off Yangjiang in south China's Guangdong Province. In 2007, China salvaged the vessel and placed it inside a museum. The ship is now known worldwide as the Nanhai No. 1.
In 2023, the excavation and recovery of all artefacts from the Nanhai No. 1 were completed, yielding an astonishing total of more than 180,000 items — the largest number of cultural relics recovered from a single archaeological project in China.
This film (in Chinese) continues the story of the Nanhai No. 1, revealing Chinese civilization and its enduring cultural connections with the world.
Highlights of this episode：
The Nanhai No. 1 represents a remarkably intact and comprehensive underwater archaeological site, from which around 180,000 cultural relics have been recovered. The finds range from large-scale trade goods to everyday necessities of life on board, covering nearly every category of archaeological remains, from gold, silver, and porcelain to organic materials.
Faced with numerous challenges, the excavation and preservation team for the Nanhai No. 1 employed a conservation-oriented excavation approach, and through overcoming various technical difficulties and advancing technological innovation, completed the overall excavation in 2023.
Text: Liu Yue
Editor: Huang Qini, James Campion, Shen He
Video source: China Central Television (CCTV), Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum
