At 1:30 p.m. on November 25, the special salvage engineering ship “Fenli Ship”, designed and built for the overall salvage and transportation of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River, loaded the ancient ship and smoothly entered the No. 1 dock at the former site of Shanghai Shipyard. After nearly 2 hours of work, the arc-shaped beam caisson of the ancient ship was accurately seated on the pre-poured saddle seat, which marked the successful completion of the overall salvage stage of the archaeological and cultural relics protection of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Li Qun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Zhao Jiaming, Member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department, and Liu Duo, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, attended the docking ceremony of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and witnessed the docking of the ancient ship and the completion of the overall salvage work.
Li Qun pointed out that the successful underwater archaeological investigation of the No. 2 ancient ship in the Yangtze River Estuary and the overall salvage stage of the water, safe transportation and smooth docking fully demonstrated the breakthrough and innovation of China’s underwater archaeological technology, highlighted China’s scientific and technological innovation capabilities and high-end manufacturing strength, and reflected the significant improvement of China’s underwater archaeology and underwater cultural heritage protection capabilities, which is also second to none in the field of underwater archaeology in the world. The overall successful salvage of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River is an excellent case of science and technology empowering archaeology and cultural relics protection, and is a microcosm of China’s continuous development and development of underwater archaeology for more than 30 years, providing Chinese concepts and experience for the world’s underwater archaeology.
Li Qun emphasized that it is necessary to deepen the research on archaeology and the history of Chinese civilization, further improve the follow-up archaeology and protection programs, maximize the acquisition of rich historical information carried by ancient ships, take the initiative to condense major topics, and strengthen the study of exchanges and mutual learning between the Maritime Silk Road and civilizations. It is necessary to improve the level of protection and management of cultural relics, build high-level protection cabins, archaeological stations and museums, refine measures such as on-site protection of important relics, hull monitoring, and micro-environment control, and comprehensively improve the ability to protect ancient hulls and organic matter cultural relics. It is necessary to make the cultural relics “live”, rely on the rich and diverse cultural relics out of the water, talk about the value of the times and the world significance of the overall salvage and protection of ancient ships, and contribute Chinese wisdom and Shanghai solutions to the protection and utilization of international underwater cultural heritage.
On March 2, 2022, the overall salvage stage of archaeology and cultural relics protection of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River was officially launched. At 0:40 a.m. on November 21, the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River was successfully salvaged as a whole. Today, the ancient ship is docked and seated, marking the successful completion of the overall salvage work of the ancient ship, and entering a new stage of coordinating the construction of the protection cabin, the archaeological excavation of the ancient ship, the protection of the hull and shipboard cultural relics, and the planning and construction of the museum.
Located on the Yangtze River Estuary waterway, the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Ancient Ship is a relic of ancient maritime Silk Road trade, which was discovered in 2015 during the key underwater archaeological survey in Shanghai. In order to ensure the safety of ancient ships, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized multiple demonstrations due to the long-term erosion of the ship’s hull gradually exposed to the seabed, which was difficult to protect in situ, and the turbid waters of the Yangtze River estuary could not carry out comprehensive and systematic underwater archaeological excavations.At 1:30 p.m. on November 25, the special salvage engineering ship “Fenli Ship”, designed and built for the overall salvage and transportation of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River, loaded the ancient ship and smoothly entered the No. 1 dock at the former site of Shanghai Shipyard. After nearly 2 hours of work, the arc-shaped beam caisson of the ancient ship was accurately seated on the pre-poured saddle seat, which marked the successful completion of the overall salvage stage of the archaeological and cultural relics protection of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Li Qun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Zhao Jiaming, Member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department, and Liu Duo, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, attended the docking ceremony of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and witnessed the docking of the ancient ship and the completion of the overall salvage work.
Li Qun pointed out that the successful underwater archaeological investigation of the No. 2 ancient ship in the Yangtze River Estuary and the overall salvage stage of the water, safe transportation and smooth docking fully demonstrated the breakthrough and innovation of China’s underwater archaeological technology, highlighted China’s scientific and technological innovation capabilities and high-end manufacturing strength, and reflected the significant improvement of China’s underwater archaeology and underwater cultural heritage protection capabilities, which is also second to none in the field of underwater archaeology in the world. The overall successful salvage of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River is an excellent case of science and technology empowering archaeology and cultural relics protection, and is a microcosm of China’s continuous development and development of underwater archaeology for more than 30 years, providing Chinese concepts and experience for the world’s underwater archaeology.
Li Qun emphasized that it is necessary to deepen the research on archaeology and the history of Chinese civilization, further improve the follow-up archaeology and protection programs, maximize the acquisition of rich historical information carried by ancient ships, take the initiative to condense major topics, and strengthen the study of exchanges and mutual learning between the Maritime Silk Road and civilizations. It is necessary to improve the level of protection and management of cultural relics, build high-level protection cabins, archaeological stations and museums, refine measures such as on-site protection of important relics, hull monitoring, and micro-environment control, and comprehensively improve the ability to protect ancient hulls and organic matter cultural relics. It is necessary to make the cultural relics “live”, rely on the rich and diverse cultural relics out of the water, talk about the value of the times and the world significance of the overall salvage and protection of ancient ships, and contribute Chinese wisdom and Shanghai solutions to the protection and utilization of international underwater cultural heritage.
On March 2, 2022, the overall salvage stage of archaeology and cultural relics protection of the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River was officially launched. At 0:40 a.m. on November 21, the No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River was successfully salvaged as a whole. Today, the ancient ship is docked and seated, marking the successful completion of the overall salvage work of the ancient ship, and entering a new stage of coordinating the construction of the protection cabin, the archaeological excavation of the ancient ship, the protection of the hull and shipboard cultural relics, and the planning and construction of the museum.
Located on the Yangtze River Estuary waterway, the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Ancient Ship is a relic of ancient maritime Silk Road trade, which was discovered in 2015 during the key underwater archaeological survey in Shanghai. In order to ensure the safety of ancient ships, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized multiple demonstrations due to the long-term erosion of the ship’s hull gradually exposed to the seabed, which was difficult to protect in situ, and the turbid waters of the Yangtze River estuary could not carry out comprehensive and systematic underwater archaeological excavations.At the archaeological station, a steel structure scaffolding protection cabin is built, equipped with lighting, security and cultural relics protection systems, and real-time monitoring and control of the environmental status of the protection cabin is carried out to ensure the stability of various environmental parameters in the cabin and ensure the safety of the hull and cultural relics. It is expected that by October 2023, the construction of the temporary archaeological station can be completed, and the ancient ship will enter the stage of laboratory archaeological excavation and overall protection of cultural relics.
Create a new cultural landmark in the city
The No. 2 ancient ship at the mouth of the Yangtze River is well preserved and rich in cultural relics on board, which is a very precious “time and space capsule”. The archaeology and protection of the No. 2 ancient ship in the Yangtze River Estuary should not only comprehensively obtain the historical information carried by the ancient ship, but also pay attention to the transformation of archaeological achievements and the dissemination of connotative value, rely on the rich and diverse cultural relics out of the water and the large-scale hull to create a high-quality underwater cultural relics exhibition, tell the past and present life of the ancient ship, and talk about the innovative breakthrough and the significance of the times in the overall salvage and protection of the ancient ship, so that more people can understand the development process of China’s underwater archaeology, inherit and carry forward the marine culture, and enhance the people’s awareness of cultural relics protection and marine awareness.
Under the guidance and promotion of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have decided to build the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Ancient Ship Museum at the former site of Yangpu Shanghai Shipyard, the core area of the first batch of national cultural relics protection and utilization demonstration zones, using two old docks and preserved historical buildings. It was once an important birthplace of China’s modern industrial civilization, witnessed the development process of the transformation of the “industrial rust belt” into the “life show belt”, and was the first place to launch the important concept of “people’s city”.
In the future, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will cooperate with the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to focus on the planning and construction goals of the world-influential ancient ship museum, the world-class underwater archaeology research center, the exhibition window of the international shipping and trade center and the cultural landmark of the people’s city’s “life show belt”, so as to create a living archaeological site museum that can simultaneously carry out archaeological excavation, cultural relics protection, scientific research and display education. The old dock will be “gorgeously transformed” into the most dazzling “pearl” on the “life show belt”, so that more people can appreciate the charm and charm of cultural relics and archaeology, understand the profound nourishment of Chinese civilization, and feel the warm expression of the people’s city.
(Li Rui)