2016 – RV "Xiangyanghong 09" –– The 3,536-ton research vessel "Xiangyanghong 09" deployed on Leg II of the 37th China Cruise Dayang (DY37II) sponsored by the National Deep Sea Center, Qingdao and the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Sanya, Hainan), to the Challenger Deep western basin area (11°22' N, 142°25' E) 4 June-12 July 2016. As the mother ship for China’s manned deep submersible "Jiaolong", the expedition carried out an exploration of the Challenger Deep to investigate the geological, biological, and chemical characteristics of the hadal zone. The diving area for this leg was on the southern slope of the Challenger Deep, at depths from about . The submersible completed nine manned dives on the northern backarc and south area (Pacific plate) of the Challenger Deep to depths from . During the cruise, "Jiaolong" regularly deployed gas-tight samplers to collect water near the sea bottom. In a test of navigational proficiency, "Jiaolong" used an Ultra-Short Base Line (USBL) positioning system at a depth more than to retrieve sampling bottles.