Divers continue search for artefacts from wreck of Chinese Qing dynasty warship sunk in 1894

Divers expect to find many more priceless artefacts from examinations of the site of a Chinese warship that sank off the coast of northeastern China in 1894, mainland media reports.

The Zhiyuan Cruise lies in about 24 metres of water at Dandong port in Liaoning province, after being holed during a battle with an Imperial Japanese Navy warship in northeastern China’s waters

One of the finds so far is a chop that experts believe belonged to Deng Shichang, a Chinese naval officer and captain of the ship, who served in the Beiyang Fleet, one of the four modernised Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911), West China City Daily reports.

Deng was hailed a national hero after he refused to be rescued from the stricken vessel and was drowned.

State Administration of Cultural Heritage said earlier that archaeologists would be conducting a three-day exploration of the shipwreck starting on Sunday, after they confirmed in September that the wreckwas that of the Zhiyuan Cruise.