Undersea archeological sites protected

As China attempts to register the Maritime Silk Road with UNESCO, protection of archeological sites in the South China Sea is underway.

Shipwrecks around Shanhu and Jinyin islands in the Xisha archipelago will be excavated over the next two years, said Wang Yiping, head of cultural heritage in Hainan Province.

Stone building material and carvings dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) have been discovered at the sites.