China's manned submersible, the "Deep Sea Warrior", can reach depths of over 4000 meters under the sea. The submersible recently welcomed its oldest passenger, 82-year-old Wang Pinxian. The Chinese Academy of Sciences' geologist took the journey to witness his own research results deep under the water. He also discovered a never-before-seen wonderland during this trip. Sun Tianyuan has more.

Not everyone has the courage to stay under water for more than eight hours, at a depth of fourteen hundred meters. It might even seem impossible if you are at the age of eighty two. China's manned submersible, the Deep Sea Warrior, conducted its third dive in the South China Sea at the end of May. This time, it welcomed its oldest passenger, Geologist Wang Pinxian, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

WANG PINXIAN GEOLOGIST & ACADEMICIAN, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES "Let me tell you. I did come here with a burden of concerns, but I felt way better than I expected after completing a whole day of activities. Very nice. I feel like I have just been to Alice's Wonderland. I just returned from that wonderland."

Wang is an expert on oceanic geology and the director of the South China Sea Mission team. He has been on research missions in the South China Sea four times, though he's never gotten to go under water. Finally, he got the chance to take a deep dive with the Deep Sea Warrior. And this time, Wang made a new discovery during his journey under the sea.

WANG PINXIAN GEOLOGIST & ACADEMICIAN, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES "We were in luck. We bumped into a new ecosystem. At the far end of the tropical coral reef, a cold-water coral forest was growing. The forest was filled with sponges and cold-water corals. We've never seen anything like this, so it tells us this is very unique. It is very valuable."

Chemical samples of volcanoes under the sea were taken back from this dive, but their analysis has to wait for a lab.

LI JIANGTAO CHIEF SCIENTIST ON BOARD "Through the observations we conducted this time, we need to continue to do more research on these topics. Our focus will shift from observation to analysis."

The Deep Sea Warrior has returned to the oceanic research vessel, the Tansuo-1, until its next adventure under the water. STY, CGTN.