Experts with Chinese salvage teams in the South China Sea say they are working hard to protect treasure and cultural relics buried beneath the waves.

"We've successfully raised the Nanhai-1 intact out of the water, and we're confident we can salvage other similar ships," said Hong Chong, director of the Guangzhou Salvage Bureau.

The bureau has conducted more than 160 successful emergency salvage missions since it was founded in 2003, most of them in the South China Sea.