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China launches phase-2 underwater survey for sunken battleship from First Sino-Japanese War

Xinhua,August 12, 2020 Adjust font size:

JINAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday launched the second phase of an underwater survey on a Chinese battleship sunk in the Yellow Sea by the invading Japanese fleet in 1894.


The survey work is in progress on the Liugong Island in east China's Shandong Province.


An underwater heritage survey was initiated in the Weihai bay in 2017, and in 2018, a shipwreck site was discovered. Archaeologists believe the site is the wreck of the Dingyuan Battleship, the flagship vessel of the Qing Dynasty's (1644-1911) Beiyang Fleet, which was purchased from Germany.


In 2019, China officially launched the first phase of the survey and found 157 cultural relics items, as well as an armor measuring 2.86 meters in length and weighing over 10 tonnes. The armor helped archaeologists identify the battleship.


The second stage of the survey is aimed at fishing out the massive armor and cleaning the ship's bow and stern, covering an estimated area of 300 square meters. The findings will provide critical archaeological materials for research on the First Sino-Japanese War and the modern history of navy and battleships.


The war, which started in 1894, is commonly known in China as the Jiawu War. On July 25, 1894, the Japanese fleet attacked two Chinese vessels off the Korean port of Asan. At that time, Korea was a tributary of the Qing Empire. By March 1895, the Chinese land army and navy were routed, which was the first time that China had been defeated by Japan in a military conflict.