China Builds Underwater Museum Around Shipwreck

Guangdong, China (AHN) - A provincial government in China is building the first underwater museum aimed at housing an 800-year old shipwreck together with its vast treasures.

The $20.5 million, five-hall museum located at the Province of Guangdong, is expected to open by the middle of next year.

Discovered in 2002 embedded under 24 meters of water and two meters of sand, Chinese archeologists describe the ship as the exhilarating underwater excavation find ever, yielding thousands of pieces of treasures.

In one of the small rooms of the ship alone, more than 6,000 pieces of treasures were found.

"We've estimated the ship to contain a total of 60,000 to 80,000 pieces of treasure," Wei Jun, director of the Guangdong Province Underwater Archeology Institute said.

"Since the ship and its treasures have become accustomed to being underwater, it's better to keep them there," he added adding they fear the ship might break up if it is exposed to air.

"The plan is to put the ship into a 5,000 ton steel container and then transport it into the underwater museum," Wei explained.