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The mysteries of the deep sea are becoming less out of reach. At about 13:00 on August 18 (about 11:00 Beijing time), on the deep blue surface of the western Pacific Ocean, the Jiaolong, carrying scientist Xu Xuewei, and submariners Qi Haibin and Zhang Yi, completed its first dive. This was the 300th dive of the Jiaolong, my country's first 7,000-meter-class manned submersible independently designed and integrated.

Golden starfish, sponges with black corals, cold-water corals with orange and yellow vines... During this dive, the Jiaolong brought back the deep-sea "gifts" that scientists had always dreamed of.

According to Xu Xuewei, chief scientist of the 2024 Western Pacific International Voyage and deputy director of the National Deep Sea Base Management Center, today's dive will be carried out in a seamount that has not yet been officially named in the Western Pacific Ocean. The main task is to observe and photograph the distribution of seabed organisms from the slope to the top of the seamount, collect biological, water, geological samples and environmental parameter data, and comprehensively test the various functions of the submersible.

At around 6 o'clock, the deep sea journey is about to begin.

The weather in the operation area was clear, and the submariners and technical support team were in place. According to the standardized operating procedures on the tablet computer, the engineers checked more than 100 inspection items of each system of the "Jiaolong" one by one. After a series of preparations were ready, engineer Liu Kun closed the hatch of the "Jiaolong".

At 7 o'clock, the Jiaolong entered the sea on time.

The Jiaolong was pushed out from the rear deck of the Deep Sea One ship and was towed to the sea surface by a winch. In the blink of an eye, it drifted away with the waves.

"The Jiaolong is now filling with water and will start to sink in 100 seconds." Following the direction pointed by Fu Wentao, the commander-in-chief of the dive, the Jiaolong disappeared from the water at 7:18 a.m. and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea.

The reporter looked at the sea in front of him nervously and excitedly, but for the "Jiaolong" which has entered the commercial operation stage, everything is a daily routine that the team members are all too familiar with.

More than 6 hours later, the Jiaolong went out to sea.

The deep blue sea surface stirred up white waves. The Jiaolong returned to the sea surface at 13:05 ship time, bringing back high-definition videos shot by 4K cameras, as well as a series of samples brought back by "three heads and six arms" such as siphon samplers, biological net bags, and microbial in situ enrichment devices.

Cold water coral samples collected by Jiaolong. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yuhao

Before the Jiaolong came to a complete stop on the rear deck, Erica, a scientist from Mexico, came forward. She was pleasantly surprised to find that there were symbiotic black and purple corals on the sponge! She took a sample box filled with ice and carefully transferred the samples to the biological laboratory on the ship.

At the submarine monitoring center on the other side, scientists were waiting here early, and the images taken by the Jiaolong from the deep sea were displayed on the big screen.

The 2,000-meter-deep sea is quiet and dark. A beam of light from the Jiaolong illuminates the seabed ahead. Following the direction of the light, white particles occasionally pass by.

"The seafloor microorganisms cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they aggregate with tiny particles floating in the seawater to form granular 'marine snow', which is also the main food source for seamount organisms," said Xu Xuewei.

Through the "eyes" of the Jiaolong, colorful deep-sea creatures emerged on the seamount ridges. Anemones, cold-water corals, and sponges drifted slowly, while starfish, sea cucumbers, and sea lilies appeared and disappeared from time to time, forming a mysterious "deep-sea garden".

As time went by, the Jiaolong arrived at the top of the seamount. Chinese and foreign scientists pointed at the screen and identified the rocks at the foot and top of the mountain. "Both rocks have black metal crusts, which should be covered with calcium sediments. We will take them back to the laboratory for further analysis," said Chen Xuguang, a professor at the Ocean University of China.

As the Jiaolong ended its deep-sea journey, the dive was mainly to verify the function of the submersible, so it would be slightly shorter than the subsequent scientific dives.

"This unnamed seamount welcomed its first batch of 'visitors' today. I am fortunate enough to be one of them and I can't hide my excitement," said Xu Xuewei.

Since completing its first diving test on the surface of the Yangtze River in August 2009, it has completed a 7,000-meter sea trial in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific in July 2012, carried out a comprehensive technical upgrade in 2017, explored the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in the first half of this year and set a new record of "nine days and nine dives". Now it has successfully completed its 300th dive... The Jiaolong has left its footprints on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, demonstrating China's deep-diving strength and realizing the long-cherished wish of "reaching for the moon in the sky and catching turtles in the five oceans."

Chinese and foreign scientists took a group photo after the Jiaolong completed its 300th dive on August 18. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yuhao

"After 15 years of exploration, we have formed a mature operating model and safety assurance system for the Jiaolong, and trained a group of professional divers and technical support teams to provide escort," said Qi Haibin, a Jiaolong submariner.

In the next 30 days, the Jiaolong will conduct 17 more dives, carrying Chinese and foreign scientists to explore the deep sea and jointly promote the conservation and sustainable use of deep-sea biodiversity. We look forward to the Jiaolong unlocking more unknown mysteries of the deep sea.

Planning: Chen Fang

Reporter: Wang Yuhao

Produced by Xinhua News Agency Domestic Department