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BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- China plans to salvage a ship that sank more than a thousand years ago in the South China Sea.

Song Jiahui, director of the salvage department for the Ministry of Communications, told a news conference the ship will be lifted from the sea as a whole.

Song says it would be the MOC's largest salvage operation.

The sunken ship, named the South China Sea-I, dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 A.D.). It was discovered in 1986 and divers have been exploring the wreck since then.

The salvage operation will be launched in the first half of this year by the city of Guangzhou's salvage bureau. A ship capable of hoisting 4,000 tons will be used to lift the wreck.

However, Song neither explained how the ship has remained intact after a millennium underwater nor provided the ship's general location, how much water it is under or how large it is.

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