The "Towards the Sea - Deep Sea Archaeology Exhibition in the Northwest Land Slope of the South China Sea" opened on the 16th at the Grand Canal Museum in Beijing. The 377 component cultural relics showcase the exchanges and mutual learning along the Ming Dynasty Maritime Silk Road, as well as the breakthrough progress and technological achievements in Chinese deep-sea archaeology. The No.1 and No.2 sunken ships on the northwest slope of the South China Sea were found in October 2022. They are located at the bottom of the South China Sea between Hainan Island and the the Xisha Islands. The depth of the site is about 1500 meters. The age of the two sunken ships respectively belongs to the Zhengde and Hongzhi periods of the Ming Dynasty. The site is relatively well preserved, with a huge number of cultural relics, reproducing the prosperous scene of maritime trade in the mid Ming Dynasty. This exhibition takes "exploring two sunken ships" as the narrative thread, and constructs three content sections: "discovering sunken ships", "entering sunken ships", and "uncovering sunken ships". The No. 1 sunken ship on the northwest slope of the South China Sea was loaded with exported ceramics, while the No. 2 sunken ship on the northwest slope of the South China Sea was loaded with imported timber and other materials. This is the first time that an ancient Chinese overseas trade sunken ship has been discovered for both departure and return. After three stages of archaeological investigation, the No.1 sunken ship site on the northwest continental slope of the South China Sea has produced a total of 890 sets of cultural relics, including a large number of porcelain pieces. The exhibition showcases the shapes, patterns, and designs of Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain through interactive exhibits featuring porcelain objects, analyzing the diverse cultural and aesthetic tastes of Ming society. After three stages of archaeological investigation, 38 cultural relics were successfully extracted from the No. 2 sunken ship site. Among them, a large number of tightly arranged and neatly stacked ebony logs constitute the main accumulation of the site. The exhibition combines ebony with gold inlaid ebony chopsticks from the Capital Museum collection, interpreting the origin and uses of these ebony. The exhibition showcases important discoveries in deep-sea archaeology in the South China Sea through cultural relics, underwater imagery, and archaeological stories. In the "Unveiling Shipwreck" section, the latest cultural relics extracted from deep-sea archaeology this year are undergoing immersion desalination, showcasing the process of desalination protection for aquatic cultural relics to the audience; The manned submersible model of the "Deep Sea Warrior" showcases the prospect of cross-border integration and mutual promotion between deep-sea technology and underwater archaeology. This exhibition will last until March 15, 2026. (New Society)