South China Sea: exploring the 'Maritime Silk Road

Source - http://english.people.com.cn/202936/8504880.html

Archaeologists work on a shipwreck in May 2012. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

Archaeologist Li Jilong said: “Every time I dive to the sea floor, it will occur to me that hundreds of years ago, ancient merchant ships, fully loaded with goods, sail along the ‘Maritime Silk Road’ to the Southeast Asia.” As a member of the first underwater archaeology team of the South China Sea, Li Jilong has witnessed the development of underwater archaeology in his more than 20 years of work. He is deeply attached to the South China Sea, the underwater cultural relics and the “Maritime Silk Road”.

Archaeologists work on a shipwreck in May 2012. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

Archaeologists do the record and measurement on a shipwreck in May 2012. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

Archaeologists work on a shipwreck in the South China Sea in May 2013. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

In this photo taken in April 2007, ancient porcelains are seen scattered on a shipwreck in the South China Sea. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

In this photo taken in March 2007, ancient porcelains are seen neatly placed in the cabin of a shipwreck on the sea floor of Xisha Islands, South China Sea. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

In this photo taken in March of 2007, ancient porcelains are seen neatly placed in a shipwreck on the sea floor of Xisha Islands, South China Sea. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)

Archaeologists work on a shipwreck in May 2012. (Xinhua/provided by Cultural Relics Bureau of Hainan Province)