(XINHUA)

A diver enters a diving bell to get ready for a 300-meter saturation dive under the South China Sea on January 9.

China succeeded in its first 300-meter saturation dive on the morning of January 12 as three divers returned safely to the living chamber on their ship.

The diving bell reached a depth of 313.5 meters under sea surface. Saturation diving enables human beings to avoid the dangers of decompression sickness by being kept in an artificially high-pressure environment for longer periods of time.