An 800-year-old Secret Shipwreck near Hong Kong

[Randy W]

China kept this 800-year-old shipwreck a secret for decades
An intact 12th-century junk was found on the bottom of the South China Sea in 1987. It took 20 years just to develop an excavation plan that preserved this priceless time capsule.

from the National Geographic on Facebook
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The British firm Maritime Exploration was looking for a Dutch East India Company shipwreck in the South China Sea in 1987 when it came across something more elusive: an intact merchant vessel from the 1100s. With the Chinese company Guangzhou Salvage, the team was trying to locate a ship belonging to the trading company that had sunk in the 1700s. Instead, in the waters between Hong Kong and Hailing Island in Guangdong Province, they found a 100-foot-long junk dated to the Southern Song period of the 12th century.

In 1125 the Song dynasty lost control of northern China. The emperor retreated south and soon set up a new capital at Lin’an (today Hangzhou). Known as the Southern Song, this state survived and even flourished. 

The enemy forces to their north blocked the Southern Song from the overland Silk Trade routes that connected with Central Asia and Europe. This artery had formed the basis of the Song’s economy for centuries, but their new southern location gave them access to extensive sea lanes that ran through the South China Sea. The Southern Song turned to shipbuilding and pursued their fortunes on the water.

In the late 12th century, a Song merchant ship laden with goods set out for a voyage but sank soon after leaving port. Eight centuries later, its discovery provides a fascinating snapshot into the moment when China set its sights on becoming a great naval power.

Divers could tell the sunken ship must have been in the early stages of its voyage because a huge cargo was still packed in the hold. It was decided to name the wreck the Nanhai No. 1 because it was the first such ship to be discovered in the Nanhai, the Chinese name for the South China Sea.

A six-foot-thick layer of silt had preserved its wooden hull and cargo, including porcelain, Song-era coins, and bars of silver. The team could tell there were a lot more goods aboard the ship, but it would be nearly impossible to survey the wreck in the silty waters. A lack of investment and suitable technology meant the Nanhai No. 1 remained on the seafloor for two decades. The site was monitored by the Chinese Navy, who kept local fishermen away with misinformation of live World War II–era bombs in the area.