The Underground City () is a Cold War era

bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. Air ...

consisting of a network of

tunnels A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A Pipeline transport, pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used ...

located beneath

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. It has also been referred to as the Underground Great Wall since it was built for the purpose of

military defense A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. The complex was constructed from 1969 to 1979 in anticipation of a nuclear war with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, as

Sino-Soviet relations SinoSoviet relations (; russian: Советско-китайские отношения, ''Sovetsko-kitayskiye otnosheniya''), or China–Soviet Union relations, refers to the diplomatic relationship between China (both the Chinese Republic of 19 ...

worsenedJiang, Steven.
Beijing Journal: An underground 'parallel universe'
. Cable News Network (2008-02-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-14.Wang, Zhiyong.

. China Internet Information Center (2005-04-15). Retrieved on 2008-07-14. and was officially reopened in 2000. Visitors were allowed to tour portions of the complex,
. Beijing China Tourist Information and Travel Guide. Retrieved on 2008-07-14. which has been described as "dark, damp, and genuinely eerie".
. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-07-14. Underground City has been closed for renovation since at least February 2008.Jiang, Steven.

. Cable News Network (2008-02-01). Retrieved on 2008-07-14.

Location

The tunnels of the Underground City run beneath Beijing's city center, covering an area of under the surface. At one time there were about 90 entrances to the complex, all of which were hidden in shops along the main streets of

Qianmen Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, literally meaning "Gate of the Zenith Sun"), a gate in Beijing's historic city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guar ...

.
Beijing Underground City
. Lonely Planet Publications. Retrieved on 2008-07-16. Many of the entrances have since been demolished or blocked off for reconstruction. Known remaining entrances include 62 West Damochang Street in Qianmen, Beijing Qianmen Carpet Factory at 44 Xingfu Dajie in

Chongwen District Chongwen District () is a former district of Beijing, located relatively southeast to the city center (Tiananmen), and was situated between Yongdingmen and Qianmen. It spanned an area of . It bordered Dongcheng District to the north, Fengtai Dist ...

, and 18 Dashilan Jie in Qianmen.

History

At the height of Soviet–Chinese tensions in 1969,

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

chairman

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

ordered the construction of the Underground City during the border conflict over

Zhenbao Island Zhenbao Island () or Damansky Island (russian: о́стров Дама́нский, ''ostrov Damanskiy'') is an island with an area of only . It is on the Ussuri River on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia, and Heilongjiang Province, Chi ...

in the Heilongjiang River. The Underground City was designed to withstand nuclear, biochemical and conventional attacks. The complex would protect Beijing's population, and allow government officials to evacuate in the event of an attack on the city. The government claimed that the tunnels could accommodate all of Beijing's six million inhabitants upon its completion. The complex was equipped with facilities such as

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

clinics A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care need ...

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

theaters Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, a

roller skating rink A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located i ...

, grain and oil warehouses, and a mushroom cultivation

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

. There were also almost 70 potential sites where

water wells A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Th ...

could easily be dug if needed. Elaborate ventilation systems were installed, with 2,300

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

that can be sealed off to protect the tunnels' inhabitants from poison gases,Going underground
. ChinaDaily (2005-12-30). Retrieved on 2008-07-17. Gas- and water-proof hatches, as well as thick concrete main gates, were constructed to protect the tunnels from biochemical attacks and nuclear fallouts. There is no official disclosure about the actual extent of the complex, but it is speculated that the tunnels may link together Beijing's various landmarks, as well as important governmental buildings such as the

Zhongnanhai Zhongnanhai () is a former imperial garden in the Imperial City, Beijing, adjacent to the Forbidden City; it serves as the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State Council (central government) of China. Zhongn ...

, the Great Hall of the People, and even military bases in the outskirts of the city. Hultengren, Irving A.
Beijing Underground City
. Irving A. Hultegren Home Page 2008 (2008-05-02). Retrieved on 2008-07-17. The China Internet Information Center asserts that "they supposedly link all areas of central Beijing, from

Xidan Xidan ( Chinese: 西单; Pinyin: Xīdān) is a major traditional commercial area in Beijing, China. It is located in the Xicheng District. The Xidan commercial district incorporates the Xidan Culture Square, North Xidan Street, as well as man ...

and Xuanwumen to

and he Chongwen district", in addition to the Western Hills. It is also rumoured that every residence once had a secret

trapdoor A trapdoor is a sliding or hinged door in a floor or ceiling. It is traditionally small in size. It was invented to facilitate the hoisting of grain up through mills, however, its list of uses has grown over time. The trapdoor has played a pivot ...

nearby leading to the tunnels. In the event of a nuclear attack, the plan was to move half of Beijing's population underground and the other half to the

Western Hills The Western Hills () are the hills and mountains in the western part of Beijing. Geography Being an extension of the Taihang mountain range from the Hebei Province, the Western Hills cover approximately 17% of the Beijing municipality, inc ...

. The tunnels were built by more than 300,000 local citizens, including school students, on volunteer duties. Some portions were even dug without the help of any heavy machinery. Centuries-old city walls, towers and gates, including the old city gates of

Xizhimen Xizhimen () was a gate in the Beijing city wall and is now a transportation node in Beijing. The gate was the entrance of drinking water for the Emperor, coming from the Jade Spring Hills to the west of Beijing. The gate was demolished in 196 ...

Fuchengmen Fuchengmen (; Manchu:;Möllendorf:elgiyen i mutehe duka) was a gate on the western side of Beijing's city wall. The gate was torn down in the 1960s, and has been replaced by the Fuchengmen overpass on the 2nd Ring Road. Fuchengmen Station is a ...

, and

Chongwenmen Chongwenmen (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: šu be wesihulere duka) was a gate that was part of Beijing's city wall in what is now Dongcheng District. The gate stood in the southeastern part of Beijing's inner city, immediately south of the old Beiji ...

were destroyed to supply construction materials for the complex. Since the complex's completion, it has been utilized by locals in various ways as the tunnels remain cool in summer and warm in winter. On busy streets, some portions of the complex were refurbished as cheap

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, while others were transformed into shopping and business centers, or even theaters. While the complex has never been used for its intended purpose, it has never been fully abandoned either. Local authorities still perform water leakage checks and pest control in the tunnels on a regular basis.

As a tourist attraction

The complex was officially opened in 2000, but has been closed for renovation since at least February 2008. While it was open, visitors were allowed to tour portions of the complex; the Underground City was popular with foreign tourists but remained virtually forgotten by local citizens. Though there are many other entrances, foreign visitors entered approved sections accessed via a small shop front in Qianmen, south of

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ...

, at 62 West Damochang Street. Tour groups could enter free of charge and without prior permission while individual tourists not part of a group were charged 20 yuan (US$2.40) each. The official tour took visitors only on a small circular stretch of the Underground City. Inside the complex, visitors could see signposts to major landmarks accessible by the tunnels, such as Tiananmen Square and the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...

, and could see chambers labeled with their original functions, such as cinemas, hospitals, or arsenals. A portrait of Mao Zedong could be seen amidst murals of locals volunteering to dig the tunnels and fading slogans such as "Accumulate Grain", and "For the People: Prepare for War, Prepare for Famine". Rooms with bunk beds and decayed cardboard boxes of

water purifier Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

s could be seen in areas not open to tourists. Visitors on the official tour would also pass by a functioning

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

factory in one of the underground staff meeting rooms of the complex, and be given a demonstration of the process of obtaining silk from silkworm cocoons. They had a chance to buy souvenirs at a tourists' shop operated by the state-owned Qianmen Arts and Crafts Center and the China Kai Tian Silk Company.

Location

History

As a tourist attraction

See also

Notes

Further reading