The submarine archaeological probe on an ancient vessel sunk in the South China Sea near Shan'tou has been going on for about a month. Nearly 1,000 pieces of cultural relics have been retrieved.(Sourse: CCTV.com)

The submarine archaeological probe on an ancient vessel sunk in the South China Sea near Shan'tou has been going on for about a month. Nearly 1,000 pieces of cultural relics have been retrieved.

Archaeologists say the vessel, known as "Nanao No.1", contains some very rare and valuable porcelain wares. Most of them were made by two leading workshops in Zhangzhou and Jingdezhen, back to the Song and Ming dynasties. Among those already retrieved from the water, the biggest one is a "China Blue" plate. Its diameter is up to 30 centimeters.

The area where the ship sak is along a very important commercial route of the East Asia, better known as silkroad on the sea. It linked Japan and the Korean peninsula in the north, the Philippines i the east ahd Indonesia in the south.