Nanhai No. 1 Shipwreck off Yangjiang (阳江) Coast of Guangdong

Abstract

Abstract The "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck is located in the waters between Taishan and Yangjiang in Guangdong Province. It was discovered in late 1980s. In 2007, it was entirely lifted and shifted to the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong. It is a momentous discovery of underwater archaeology in China so far. It is also an important relic site along the Maritime Silk Road. The hull of "Nanhai No. 1" was basically preserved under sea mud. It was a merchant ship of the Southern Song Dynasty. It was a “Fu Chuan” type seafaring ship fully loaded with goods. The ship sank on the main course of marine traffic, a key passageway along the "Maritime Silk Road" linking ancient China and the world. As an independent underwater cultural site with intact structure, Nanhai No. 1 contains a huge amount of information. It has yielded more than 180 thousand commodities. Numbers of trade ceramics were exported to varied foreign markets, demonstrating a highly developed commodity economy and frequent Sino-foreign exchanges in the Song Dynasty. Communications and fusion between different cultures stimulated the sustainable development of marine civilization in South China Sea. The South China Sea marine civilization zone becomes the bridge linking the East and the West.KeywordsSong DynastyNanhai No. 1 shipwreckPorcelainMaritime tradeMaritime Silk Road