STORY: China delves into sea for challenging shipwreck exploration
DATELINE: June 11, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:37
LOCATION: HAIKOU, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE/TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the deep-sea archaeological exploration
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG NINGHAO, Deputy head of the deep-sea archaeological team
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): CHEN CHUANXU, Deputy head of the deep-sea archaeological team

STORYLINE:

A deep-sea archaeological team on Sunday finished the first stage of investigations on two ancient shipwrecks discovered in the South China Sea.

The investigations were launched on May 20, opening a new chapter of China's deep-sea archaeology.
   
Approved by the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the first stage of investigations was conducted at the site of the No. 1 and No. 2 shipwrecks near the northwest continental slope of the South China Sea.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHANG NINGHAO, Deputy head of the deep-sea archaeological team
"This is the first time that we've got to witness such large-scale shipwrecks. It would have been unimaginable in the past. When we operated the camera from inside the cabin, we could zoom in on the different parts of the site, as well as the details. It's totally different from watching recorded videos."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): CHEN CHUANXU, Deputy head of the deep-sea archaeological team
"Our tasks include the deployment of long baseline positioning system, 3D laser imaging, photo merging, high-resolution filming as well as the extraction of features of the cultural relics."

The two ancient shipwrecks were discovered in October 2022, about 1,500 meters underwater.

The relatively well-preserved shipwrecks contain a large number of cultural relics.

They are believed to have important historical, scientific, and artistic value.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Haikou, China.
(XHTV)