An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 18, 2025 shows Hainan's commercial underwater intelligent computing cluster being lowered into the sea near Lingshui Li Autonomous County in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua)
by Yi Ling and Zhou Huimin
HAIKOU, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The island province of Hainan in south China is known for its sandy beaches and duty-free shopping malls. Now, the waters off the coast of south Hainan are home to a groundbreaking innovation: a "smart brain" in the sea.
Around a month ago, a white cylindrical data module, measuring 18 meters long and 3.6 meters in diameter, was lowered into the sea by a crane ship, where it sank to a depth of 30 meters near Lingshui Li Autonomous County. It houses over 400 high-performance servers, and is connected to an underwater data center first deployed in March 2023. This marks the completion of the world's first commercial underwater intelligent computing cluster.
The achievement marks a milestone in China's quest to harness marine resources for next-generation computing power.
The cluster's current computing capacity equals 30,000 high-end gaming PCs working simultaneously, completing in one second what would take a standard computer a year. It supports AI assistants like DeepSeek to process approximately 7,000 intelligent interactions per second, said Pu Ding, general manager of Hainan underwater data center demonstration project.
"By integrating with the operational underwater data center, this cluster establishes a bridge for data transmission through coastal stations, enabling seamless connectivity with client systems," he explained.
Pu said that the center had already inked contracts with nearly 10 enterprises, targeting applications in AI model training, industrial simulation, gaming, and marine research.
For AI, the center's power could shrink model training from months to weeks. In gaming, it enables complex rendering and stable multiplayer operations, Pu said.
Intelligent computing centers, often dubbed "AI brain factories," process massive datasets and provide the backbone for training and operating large-scale AI models.
The Lingshui project represents a fusion of marine engineering and data infrastructure, which raises questions: why build a computing center underwater? How does it advance China's computational capabilities?
NEW FRONTIER FOR COMPUTING AND SUSTAINABILITY
The project, described by Pu as a "green, low-carbon, and high-efficiency" innovation, positions China at the forefront of underwater computing infrastructure.
China's push for cutting-edge computing power is no accident. With the AI revolution accelerating, China aims to boost the country's aggregate computing power by more than 30 percent by 2025, according to a plan released by six government departments in October 2023. The plan also sets a target for China's total computing power to reach 300 EFLOPS by 2025.
EFLOPS is a measurement unit used to determine a computer's speed. A 1 EFLOPS computing system can complete 1 quintillion floating-point operations per second.
A national strategy announced in 2022 prioritizes computing hubs in cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as inland nodes such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Hohhot and Guiyang.
Hainan's underwater venture adds a marine dimension to this landscape -- a fusion of "ocean and digital power" aligned with China's dual carbon goals of reaching peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.
WHY THE SEA?
Traditional data centers consume vast amounts of energy for cooling. By contrast, the waters off Lingshui help the Hainan center leverage natural cooling from low temperatures and high-pressure conditions, slashing energy use and eliminating freshwater consumption, according to Pu.
"With a 1MW power supply, a single module delivers 1,400 PFlops, 40 percent more computing efficiency than land-based centers," he said.
The center's existing 675 PFlops cluster already rivals medium-sized land facilities, he noted.
Safety is another advantage. Designed to withstand once-in-a-century typhoons, the pressurized data modules operate in the ocean's stable, oxygen-free environment, reducing hardware corrosion and failure rates.
A semi-annual operational report by China Telecom Hainan, one of the Lingshui underwater data center's first clients, and China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) confirms the underwater data center's stable performance since its 2023 launch, with zero server failures and no need for on-site maintenance.
While Microsoft's 2015 experimental "Project Natick" in Scotland demonstrated the feasibility of a subsea data center, Hainan's project distinguishes itself as the first commercial deployment. "Commercial systems require standardized, client-driven engineering-far more complex than self-use setups," Pu emphasized.
He underlined the adaptability of the Hainan center to diverse marine environments.
"Microsoft's project operates in relatively cooler marine areas, while ours is in one of China's hottest water regions. This grants our application a broader operational scope, as our technology demonstrates greater advantages in colder waters," explained Pu.
Pu emphasized technical breakthroughs in sealing and installation as "the module must remain watertight for five years without maintenance," referring to innovations including dual O-ring seals for penetration points and a ballasted structure capable of withstand strong typhoons.
Regarding future underwater data centers, he emphasized that China has a comprehensive industrial chain, with lower research and development costs and a stronger foundational infrastructure.
This provides a viable pathway for the commercialization of underwater data centers through large-scale production capabilities, said Pu.
A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HAINAN'S DIGITAL ECONOMY
Pu noted that next, with the support of the current Lingshui project, an intelligent computing center will be established at Lingshui for the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), one of the country's special economic zones.
Computing power is essentially a new resource, and its integration with industry can diversify industrial models. The development of the Lingshui project is also a move toward strengthening digital capabilities, representing a significant project that embodies a new energy or a direction for industrial development, said Liu Jinpeng, director of Lingshui's sci-tech, industry and IT bureau.
Highlighting its alignment with national strategy, Liu noted that as a free trade port, Hainan is ideal for cross-border data flows and AI-driven economic growth.
The Lingshui project provides a vital platform for global enterprises, particularly those in cross-border operations. Its infrastructure supports secure data exchange, enabling international firms to optimize global resources and connect with China's massive market, said Liu.
The Lingshui project also signifies China's openness in the digital era. It reinforces Hainan's role as a bridge between domestic capabilities and international opportunities, he said.
By fostering partnerships with Southeast Asia, and Belt and Road Initiative partner countries, it empowers Chinese brands and digital services to expand overseas while attracting foreign enterprises to access China's manufacturing upgrades and digital economy.
"We look forward to building an ecosystem around computing power that fosters Hainan or Lingshui as a hub for cross-border or international exchanges in computing power," said Liu. ■
An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 18, 2025 shows Hainan's commercial underwater intelligent computing cluster being lowered into the sea near Lingshui Li Autonomous County in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua)
A drone photo taken on Feb. 18, 2025 shows Hainan's commercial underwater intelligent computing cluster being lowered into the sea near Lingshui Li Autonomous County in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua)
A drone photo taken on Feb. 18, 2025 shows Hainan's commercial underwater intelligent computing cluster being lowered into the sea near Lingshui Li Autonomous County in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua)
