Ancient Sunken Ship Finally Hoisted From Yangtze Estuary

A 150-year-old shipwreck believed to be a treasure trove of cultural relics was successfully lifted from a riverbed near Shanghai early Monday morning in a high-tech salvage operation.

The Ancient Vessel is a wooden sailing boat built around 1862-1875 during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi.

It was buried in sludge 5.5 meters deep and the water area where the ship sank is 8 to 10 meters deep. The remains of the ship are about 38.1 meters long and 9.9 meters wide and it has 31 cabins based on current findings.

The vessel, along with sediment and seawater, was then lifted into a central open pool of the salvage vessel. The vessel will be later carried to the No. 1 dock of the former site of the Shanghai Shipyard in Yangpu District by salvage ship Fen Li, entering a new stage of preservation of cultural relics and archaeological excavation.