Officials discover ancient Chinese underwater city is perfectly preserved

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The Lion City, otherwise known as Shi Cheng, is an ancient submerged city that lies at the foot of Wu Shi Mountain (Five Lion Mountain), now located about 25 – 40 metres beneath the spectacular Qiandao Lake (Thousand Island Lake) in China. Officials have taken a renewed interest in the sunken city after discovering that, despite more than 50 years underwater, the entire city has been preserved completely intact, transforming it into a virtual time capsule.

The structures in Shi Cheng feature traditional Chinese statues. Photo credit. 

The Lion City was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 – 200 AD) and was first set up as a county in 208 AD. It was once the centre of politics and economics in the eastern province of Zhejiang. But in 1959, the Chinese government decided a new hydroelectric power station was required - so it built a man-made lake, submerging Shi Cheng under 40 metres of water.After erecting a dam, now known as Xin'an River hydroelectric, the historical metropolis was slowly filled with water until it was completely submerged by the turquoise-blue mass now referred to as Qiandao Lake.



 Qiandao Lake covers an area of 573 km² and has a storage capacity of 17.8 km³. More than 1,000 large islands dot the lake and a few thousand smaller ones are scattered across it. There, lying at the bottom of the Thousand Island Lake, the Lion City lay undisturbed and forgotten for 53 years, until Qiu Feng, a local official in charge of tourism, decided to see what remained of the city under the deep waters. He was amazed to discover that, protected from wind, rain, and sun, the entire city complete with temples, memorial arches, paved roads, and houses, had become a ‘time capsule’ as almost every structure was completely intact, including wooden beams and stairs. Unsurprisingly, this amazing site has now been opened up by the local tourist office and divers are vying to get a look at this ancient sunken city and all the historical treasures it has to offer.

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