"Nanhai One" ashore after 800 years at sea bottom

YANGJIANG, Guangdong, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- An 800-year-old merchant boat loaded with precious trading goods anchored at a port here Thursday morning after it was hoisted from the bottom of the sea four days ago.

A merchant boat, dubbed the Nanhai No. 1, or "South China Sea No. 1," is being moved to the "Crystal Palace," the Marine Silk Road Museum of Guangdong in south China's Guangdong Province. Dec. 26. The ancient merchant boat loaded with porcelain, sank off the south China coast 800 years ago. (Xinhua Photo)

With the help of a crane, workers managed to drag the 5,000-ton Nanhai (South China Sea) No. 1 aboard 16 huge air bags to a temporary port at about 1 a.m. after more than three hours of hard work overnight.

The 30-meter-long wooden vessel will continue to move to its final residence of the "crystal palace" in a specially built museum aboard 25 round air bags, each of which is 15 meters long and 1 meter in diameter.

The ship is expected to arrive at the destination Thursday night and on Friday, it will enter the designated glass pool, where the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions are the same as where the ship has lain on the sea bed.

The pool, containing seawater, is 64 meters long, 40 meters wide, 23 meters high and about 12 meters in depth. It will be sealed after the ship and the silt, taken out of water along with the boat, are put in.