A sunken warship from the First Sino-Japanese War was found in the waters off Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, marking another major achievement in China's underwater archaeological work after the discovery of its fellow warship "Zhiyuan" in 2015.
The discovery of the wreckage of the warship "Jingyuan" was jointly carried out by the National Conservation Center For Underwater Cultural Heritage, the Liaoning Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, and the Dalian City Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
A combined photo shows two characters "Jing" and "Yuan" on the plate hanging on the side of the ship. /Photo via Xinhua News Agency
From July to September, the team used apparatus and equipment, such as a multibeam echosounder, to collect data from the relic and dived into the water to search for it. The ship was spotted 12 meters underwater on the seabed with most of the parts of the upside-down hull covered by mud. By pumping the sand out from around the ship, the hull was completely exposed.
On Sept. 15, the archaeological team found a wooden plate bearing the Chinese name "Jingyuan" on the side of the ship, which verified the cruiser's identity. More than 500 relics were unearthed, including components of the hull, weapons and ship-borne tools.
Mauser rifle bullets, revolver bullets, 37mm shells, 47mm shells and some other underwater discoveries. /Photo via Xinhua News Agency
The "Jingyuan" was made in a German Vulkan shipyard and was registered to the Beiyang Fleet in 1887. Lin Yongsheng, a well-known general, served as the captain.
In September 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out and, during the conflict, the Beiyang Fleet was defeated and lost four warships, including the "Jingyuan" and "Zhiyuan".
(Cover: The searching team works on the waters off Dalian, Liaoning Province. / Photo via Chinanews.com)