New International Center for Underwater Research Opens in Guangzhou

via China Daily, 06 December 2023: Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, has established an international cooperation center for underwater archaeology to advance academic research and international collaboration in Southeast Asia. The center aims to explore deep-sea archaeology, coordinate underwater archaeological surveys, and develop a geographic information management system for underwater cultural heritage in the region. Significant efforts include the excavation of Nanhai No 1 and Nan’ao No 1 shipwrecks, ancient cargo ships from the Song and Ming dynasties, revealing over 180,000 relics including porcelain, gold, and silver.

An international cooperation center for underwater archaeology has been established in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, to deepen academic exchanges on underwater archaeology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and expand international cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The center, located at a scientific research base in Nansha of Guangzhou, will collaborate with local marine geological survey authorities and other departments to explore deep-sea archaeology, according to the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey.

It will assist in conducting underwater archaeological surveys in the province in coordination with a nationwide cultural relics survey, and soon establish a geographic information management system for underwater archaeological cultural heritage in the GBA, the local marine geological survey said.

Source: Underwater archeology cooperation hub set up – Chinadaily.com.cn