Hundreds of artefacts excavated from Qing-era shipwreck in the Yangtze
- The artefacts are mostly porcelain and ceramics likely made in the famous artisan city Jingdezhen
- The wreck is a famous historical site, but it has never been excavated at this scale
A team of archaeologists has excavated over 600 artefacts from a famous Qing dynasty shipwreck at the bottom of a Yangtze River estuary in Jiangxi province in eastern China near Shanghai.
Called the Yangtze River Estuary No.2 project, the shipwreck is China’s largest and best-preserved wooden shipwreck.
Zhai Yang, vice-director of the Shanghai Cultural Heritage Conservation and Research Center, told state-run news channel CGTN: “Due to long-time seawater corrosion, this green-glazed cup appears slightly brown. However, it represents a cultural exchange between China and the world during the early days of Shanghai’s opening up as a trade port.”
The wooden sailing ship was likely wrecked during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861-1875) of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912).