China has begun a months-long project to raise a 150-year-old shipwreck filled with Qing dynasty porcelain from the mouth of the Yangtze.

The operation to raise the 38m craft, wedged 5.5m deep in the river bed near Shanghai, is part of a drive to retell the country’s history as that of an international maritime trading power. It is believed to have been China’s largest wooden trading vessel and contains huge quantities of artefacts such as porcelain bowls, vases and plates.

After the wreck’s discovery in 2015 in a government-led survey of underwater relics, maritime archaeologists devised a plan to pull it from the water with a custom-built salvage boat. The Fenli has hoisting equipment at each end and a 56m by 20m “moon pool” —

Registered in England No. 894646. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.