The National Fujian (Pingtan) Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Base and Fujian (Pingtan) Underwater Archaeology Base were inaugurated on June 16, marking a new chapter in underwater archaeology in E China’s Fujian province. Pingtan is an island off Fujian and the closest place on the mainland to the island of Taiwan.

According to the planning, the bases will function as divisions for the protection and restoration of cultural relics, research, exhibition, study tour, training, and academic exchanges. The base will also promote exchanges and cooperation with its counterparts outside.

Various porcelain specimens salvaged from sunken ships in Haitan Strait [File photo]

The bases are built on the underwater ruins across the Haitan Strait of Pingtan and Haisi (Maritime Silk Road) culture. The ruins have been selected as the 7^th batch of the “National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units,” the first of its kind along the coast of the mainland and the most concentrated underwater remains discovered in the country.

Blue and white porcelain dated back to the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) [File photo]

Yue kiln porcelain unearthed from the seabed dated back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-979) [File photo]

The relics underwater proved from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-979) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), boasting a complete chronological sequence. The site is recognized as one of the waters with the richest cultural heritage and important evidence of the construction of the core area of the Fujian Maritime Silk Road.

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