24 | Friday, July 26, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Exploring the great depths
Chinese submersibles expert promotes ang Bo speaks to young people, especially stu undersea exploration among youth, dents, about undersea Li Yingxue reports. resources these days. The researcher at the Institute of AcousY tics of the Chinese Academy of Sci ences, is a designer and pilot of Jiaolong, China’s first manned deep sea research submersible that can touch depths of more than 7,000 meters below sea level. Ever since the Chinese vessel suc ceeded in reaching a depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean in 2012, Yang, 39, has been sharing his experiences in pub lic also in the hope of popularizing science among the country’s youth. And, his talks about the mysteries of the sea are getting many of his young audiences interested in the subject. China’s 7,000meter manned sub mersible project was proposed in 1992 and finally started 10 years lat er. The challenge was to test the ves sel’s capability of realtime communication, microphotography detection and sampling in a moving state at a designated area undersea. The submersible was named after the mythical dragon Jiaolong. Yang joined the project team in depth, other crew members splashed 2005 focusing on the acoustic com water on the pilots when they munication system after he had returned to the mother ship, as a kind completed his master’s at the Bei of ritual. jing Institute of Technology. In Yang’s memory, the trials for After its designing, manufactur 7,000 meters were easier than the ing and onland test, the vessel had previous ones. On June 27, 2012, to go through a open watertank Jiaolong reached a depth of 7,062 test. Then it entered the final stage meters in the Mariana Trench in — sea trials — also the most chal the western Pacific. Three days lenging among all tests. before, Yang and the other pilots In 2005, China had only success spoke from this depth with Chinese fully dived some 600 meters under astronauts who encouraged them sea. And, due to the lack of prior from Tiangong1 space lab. experience, the trials of Jianglong With six dives in total, the trials were carried out from shallow to were completed in 2012 and it was deep waters step by step — 0 meter, confirmed that the performance of 50 meters, 300 meters, 1,000 Jiaolong was stable at a depth of meters, 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters 7,000 meters. and 7,000 meters. All functions of the submersible In 2009, Jiaolong started its first Top: A photo taken by Jiaolong during a sea trial. Above: Yang Bo is were tested at least twice and the sea trial in the South China Sea and now the deputy chief designer of China’s new manned submersible faults found in the tests were reme Yang got an additional role as a that is being prepared to dive to a depth of 11,000 meters underwater. died. pilot, as he knew much about the PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY While Jiaolong was doing its sea acoustic communication system of trials, another manned submersible the vessel. The acoustic communica project named Shenhai Yongshi tion system of Jiaolong is like “We had collected nearly 300 sets (Deep Sea Warrior) started in 2010, human eyes, mouth and ears used to of monitoring data, but we could and Yang became the deputy chief communicate, locate and map the call the depth as passed only after all designer on it. undersea landform through acous data were measured twice,” he adds. Jiaolong helped us to Shenhai Yongshi is designed to tic emissions and reception. Yang remembers that at 300 find our direction in reach a depth of 4,500 meters and At 8.2 meters long and 3.4 meters meters below sea level it started to finished its sea trials in 2017. high, Jiaolong weighs around 22 tons. get dark, but the creatures were developing new In March, Shenhai Yongshi fin Before each sea trial, Jiaolong had attractive. technology for ished its first expedition in the Indi to be lifted from its mother ship and “I saw many kinds of corals and an Ocean. put into the sea, he says. different fish that I had never seen undersea research.” A new mother ship named Shen “When we were releasing Jiao before,” says Yang, who had never Yang Bo, researcher at hai Yihao (Deep Sea No 1) is expect long for the first time (in the sea), it been to sea until this trial in 2009 the Institute of Acoustics of the ed to carry Jiaolong to the Mariana was blown away by the wind, and and all he knew about sea creatures Chinese Academy of Sciences Trench for another expedition this the mother ship had to find the exact were from books or documentaries. year. angle for the frogmen to tie it back to The team tried 1,000 meters “We were a young team when the vessel,” Yang says. “It was also the before heading back to the laborato in the vessel in the morning and making Jiaolong, with around 60 to first time we got data from the sea. ry to upgrade the vessel. returned before sunset. Yang also 70 percent of our team members in “But the communication system In the first half of 2010, Jiaolong had some seasickness. their 30s, and now looking back at was not working, as the signal from was back in the South China Sea for “The floating up time was the that experience is helping us to Jiaolong was swallowed by the a second round of trials — this time most relaxing time for us, pilots, as grow quickly as scientists,” says noise of the sea. It was like trying to the goal was 3,000 meters. Yang we can observe the sea, chat and eat.” Yang. talk in a busy market with some recalls that problems occurred while In June 2011, Jiaolong faced its “Jiaolong helped us to find our one, without being able to hear diving below 2,200 meters, but they 5,000meter trials in the northeast direction in developing new tech each other.” vanished when floating up. “If we ern Pacific Ocean. The media start nology for undersea research.” Yang and other team members met certain problems, the trial must ed to notice the vessel and the trials Having reached great depths took twohour naps each night for be stopped and we had to immedi were covered live on TV as well. with Jiaolong, Yang and the team of two weeks on the mother ship to ately float up to solve them.” “We tried 5,000 meters seven China’s new manned submersible solve the problem and the commu The trials for 3,000 meters went times, and each time it was success (which plans to dive to 11,000 nication finally worked in a 50me well for the last few times. The sub ful, because by then we already meters underwater) are preparing ter trial. mersible went down into the sea 35 understood what exactly deepsea to explore further. Then came the 300meter trial meters per minute, and each trial equipment is from our previous Yang Bo, designer of Jiaolong’s acoustic communication system, is which took around 20 times to took around 10 hours. On each trial trials,” says Yang. Contact the writer at also one of the pilots of the submersible. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY achieve. day, Yang and two other pilots set off Each time Jiaolong achieved a new [email protected]
in and outside China. Yang later improved the arrangement of the China finds keys to Malaysian pianist’s heart piece and the new version was debuted in her Malaysian home town, where she was accompanied KUALA LUMPUR — “Upon hear is based on the Yellow River Cantata Piano Concerto in China. “Coinci by the China National Symphony ing the Yellow River Piano Concerto by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai, dentally, it took place in Fujian prov Orchestra under the baton of for the first time, I was deeply and has long inspired patriotism ince, my ancestral home. It was also renowned conductor Tang Muhai. moved,” Malaysian pianist Claudia across China. The piano concerto is a charity performance for the Hope Spending most of her career in Yang remembers vividly the scene one of the best internationally Project, so it was very meaningful China, Yang is dedicating more of after more than three decades. known musical works that presents for me,” she says. her time to promoting ties between “Looking back, I felt incredible. I Chinese material in the form of clas As her performance tours took China and Malaysia, both of which was only 12 years old, but I could feel sical music. her around the globe, Yang felt more she now calls home. the blood was boiling inside me,” It is also how a Malaysian girl who classical pieces should be created to Yang was born in 1974, the year she recalls. aspired to be a pianist found her promote understanding among the Malaysia and China established dip Born into a ChineseMalaysian love for Chinese music and culture. foreign audiences about Chinese lomatic relations. Recently, she family in Muar, a small town in “I was thinking at the time, if given culture. joined China’s Guangxi Symphony Malaysia’s southern Johor state, the opportunity, I want to perform it “China has a long history of litera Orchestra on a performance tour of Yang began her piano studies at the in China some day,” Yang says. ture, so I looked to the four great Chi Malaysia to mark the 45th anniver age of 5 and her talent soon became Yang went on to further her piano nese classical novels for inspiration,” sary of bilateral diplomatic relations apparent. studies in Europe, among the heart she says. She chose Dream of the Red between the two countries. “When I was 12 years old, my lands of classical music, eventually Chamber, a love story which Yang “Malaysia is close to China and brother bought me some cassettes achieving her goal of becoming a says was more suitable for a female the two countries cooperate across of Chinese folk music, as well as the pianist. She married a man from pianist. various fields,” she says. “As a Malay Yellow River Cantata and the Yellow Beijing and the couple decided to The piano concerto Dream of the sian and a Chinese daughterinlaw, River Piano Concerto, that was settle down in the Chinese capital. Red Chamber was jointly composed I feel I need to do more to promote when I heard the masterpiece for As she started her career as a by Yang and Hungarian composer that.” the first time,” she says. pianist in China, Yang fulfilled her Malaysian pianist Claudia Yang performs in Kuala Lumpur on July 15. Gyula Fekete. It was completed in The Yellow River Piano Concerto dream to perform the Yellow River XINHUA 2014 and has been performed both XINHUA