The Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, completed a practice dive in Sanya, Hainan province, on Saturday to prepare for a deep descent in the South China Sea. The submersible stayed underwater for 18 minutes in Saturday's drill before returning to the Xiangyanghong 09, the mother ship, after the crew-training exercise.

Zhang Weijia, who participated in the simulation, said she was excited to enter the submersible for the first time and learn about its facilities, operations and emergency escape procedures.

The Jiaolong's South China Sea dive is part of the second stage of China's 38th Ocean Scientific Expedition. The expedition will last for about four months.

The drill was necessary to test equipment and personnel, according to Wu Changbin, general commander of the second stage of the expedition. The Jiaolong's technological status is stable and the cooperation between various departments has been smooth, Wu said.

The Jiaolong completed a deep-sea operation in the northwestern Indian Ocean earlier this year in the mission's first stage. It will conduct surveys in the Yap Trench and the Mariana Trench in the third stage.

Named after a mythical dragon, the Jiaolong reached its deepest depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in June 2012.