Nanhai No.1 shipwreck is the world’s existing richest and fullest aggregate of artifacts that reflect the culture of the Maritime Silk Routes. According to the site of its sinking and the characteristics of its artifacts, Nanhai No.1 was a civilian trade ship that set sail from Quanzhou Port during the Song dynasty. It was a Foochow junk, which is among the three major types of ships in ancient China. It was named Nanhai No.1 because it sank in the waters of the South China Sea on the Maritime Silk Routes and it was the first shipwreck that the China underwater archaeological team discovered there.

Nanhai No.1 carries a total of 60,000 to 80,000 artifacts, which is indeed outstandingly rare among the shipwrecks found by China so far. Without a doubt, the discovery of Nanhai No.1 is a first and foremost milestone of China’s underwater archaeology.

The Nanhai No.1 shipwreck was salvaged in whole, its largest discovery being the porcelains, including the exquisite items that are exhibited this time: Jingdezhen Kilns (Jiangxi); Dehua Kilns, Cizao Kilns, Yi Kilns (Fujian); and Longquan Kilns (Zhejiang).Besides, among the many artifacts salvaged along with the shipwreck are lacquerwares, gold objects, cinnabar items, etc., which reflect the prosperity of China’s foreign trade at the time.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Macao Museum hosts this exhibition in collaboration with the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong and with the support from the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. In so doing the museum participates in advancing the cultural exchange with the “Belt-andRoad Initiative” countries and regions, acts jointly in the Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao cooperation, and re-envisages the prosperity of the ancient seaways on the Maritime Silk Routes. We hope that the exhibition deepens the audience’s understanding of Nanhai No.1 through appreciating the salvaged artifacts, the long-rested stacked objects, and the sailors’ belongings.