The Nan’ao No. 1: Maritime Trade in the Ming Dynasty was Guangdong Museum’s first major underwater archaeology exhibition held abroad, at the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage in South Korea from November 28, 2016, to March 1, 2017. The exhibition featured 205 pieces/sets of exhibits, including one first-grade cultural relic (0.5% of the total). The exhibits were mainly from the Guangdong Museum's collection (195 pieces/sets), with 10 artifacts borrowed from the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Xinhui Museum, and the Taishan Museum. Based upon the Guangdong Museum’s earlier exhibition Sailing the Seven Sea: Legend of Ming Maritime Trade during Wanli Era, the exhibition Nan’ao No. 1: Maritime Trade in the Ming Dynasty showcased 200 selected artifacts for the exhibition in South Korea. After its run at the Guangdong Museum, it had toured the Liaoning Provincial Museum and the Qingdao Museum to great acclaim; this was its first time traveling abroad.

The exhibits of Nan’ao No. 1: Maritime Trade in the Ming Dynasty centered around relics from two shipwrecks—Nan’ao No. 1 and Wanli Ship. Nan’ao No. 1 shipwreck, discovered in 2007 in the Sandianjin sea area of Nan’ao County, Guangdong, dates to the early Wanli period and yielded over 30,000 artifacts. It was China’s first underwater archaeological project to be listed among the “Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of the Year.” The Guangdong Museum holds 60% of the recovered relics and also acquired several dozen artifacts from the Wanli Ship wreck off Malaysia. Drawing on collections from more than ten museums and cultural institutions in China and abroad, the Guangdong Museum spent three years preparing Sailing the Seven Sea: Legend of Ming Maritime Trade during Wanli Era exhibition from September 2015 to March 2016. This exhibition cast its gaze on China and the world during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, using rich historical relics to lead everyone to re-examine the splendid maritime trade of that period, and guiding the visitor to understand the entire panorama of the Maritime Silk Road's emergence, development, and prosperity through this period of history. The exhibition was honored with the Excellence Award at the 13th (2015) National Top Ten Museum Exhibitions of China, jointly issued by the Chinese Museums Association and the China Cultural Relics Newspaper.

Mokpo, where the Nan’ao No. 1 exhibition was held, is the same city where the Yuan-dynasty Sinan Shipwreck was discovered 40 years ago. The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage, a leading institution for underwater archaeology in South Korea, provided strong technical and academic support. The exhibition marked the beginning of collaboration between the Guangdong Museum and the Institute, paving the way for future cooperation in exhibition exchange, education, and research of maritime heritage.