The State Oceanic Administration of China has set up the country's first oceanic sample repository in Qingdao, Shandong Province, to facilitate its research into the deep sea.

The repository, covering about 3,000 square meters, was responsible for the collection, preservation, pretreatment, analysis, management and distribution of samples obtained by China from the international seabed area, said Wang Fei, State Oceanic Administration of China deputy head.

"The operation of the repository will play an important role in China's research into the deep sea."

The repository stored samples of Cobalt-rich crusts, polymetallic nodules, rocks and sediments from the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans that have been collected by China since 2001. People can study the samples through a database by completing an online applications.

The repository laboratory conducts pretreatment, analysis and test of the samples. The exhibition part of the repository is now open to the public, displaying the country's achievements in deep-sea exploration.

Qingdao, a harbor city in the eastern Shandong Province, has an abundance of experts and oceanology institutes, making it an ideal place to carry out research.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2008)