Fendouzhe Deep-Sea Submersible
Geography: Asia Pacific · East Asia · China
Fendouzhe ('Striver') has completed more 10,000-meter dives than any other submersible in history. In 2025, a Chinese-led team discovered a 'vibrant oasis' of chemical-eating creatures at 9,533 meters in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, including thousands of worms and mollusks thriving in conditions previously thought uninhabitable.
The expedition identified 7,564 microbial species in the Mariana Trench — 89.4% previously unknown to science. This diversity rivals the total documented marine microbial life globally, suggesting the deep ocean holds far more biological complexity than assumed.
China's deep-sea program serves both scientific and strategic purposes. The International Seabed Authority has granted China more deep-sea mining exploration contracts than any other country. Understanding the deep ocean floor is a prerequisite for extracting polymetallic nodules — manganese, nickel, cobalt, and rare earths — from the seabed.
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