Live broadcast of archaeological excavation at Old Summer Palace in Beijing

A live broadcast of archeological excavation at Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, in Beijing, Aug 17, 2016. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

An archeological excavation at Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, has been broadcast live on microblogging site Weibo, mobile messaging app WeChat and video streaming services in Beijing on Wednesday.

It is the first time the excavation of the former imperial garden has been broadcast live, offering ordinary people a chance to see how the cultural relics are unearthed.

The site is Yuanyingguan, which is located on the north end of Changchunyuan and in adjacent to Dashuifa Site. Emperor Qianlong's favorite Concubine Rong used to live here.

The archeological dig at the site started on June and will last till the end of November. In less than one hour of the broadcast, archeologists have unearthed three pieces of glazed pottery. The objects were then cleaned and photographed for registration.

The archeological excavation at Yuanmingyuan is also open to the public, which enables the tourists to see archeologists at work from a distance.

Archeologists said the live broadcast aims to raise public awareness of excavation and the protection of cultural relics.