Shi Cheng, or Lion City, was founded nearly 1500 years ago and was once the probable center of commerce and politics for its district. Information about Lion City, beyond that, is somewhat sketchy (and here's a sketch of what the city may have once looked like):
In 1959, the valley in which Shi Cheng was located was flooded for the Xin'an River Dam Project, creating Qiandao Lake. As far as I can tell, the abandoned city was not discovered until after it was flooded and submerged during the creation of the lake. Or, maybe, the Chinese government knew it was there and just didn't care. They did dislocate about 300,000 people for the project. At any rate, the once prosperous city now lies at the bottom of the lake.
As an added bonus, here some pictures of the Sutro Baths, built in San Francisco in the 1890s as the world's largest indoor swimming pool complex. The baths operated through the 1960s when they were finally closed for financial reasons. Shortly after closing, a fired destroyed the building.
Oh I would LOVE to go scuba diving there!!
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese stonework sculptures are gorgeous! I wonder if things are preserved better in the water. At least they're safe from thieves and treasure hunters. (Can you imagine the fabulous things that would still be in Egypt if it weren't for tomb robbers?)
ReplyDeleteFound it after it was flooded - good timing! What a shame. Won't take long for the water to destroy it.
ReplyDeleteSo that entire area of calm water was a pool? Whoa...
Stupid internet ate my comment. It was awesome too. A joke about how good the ruins look after 55 years under water. A thing was said about Chinese govt and mega projects. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, an entire city under water....
ReplyDeleteSad when that happens, but I suppose it's in the name of progress.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, that is so cool! I want to scuba! This has to be my favorite so far.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad end to a once great city. In one blog we are talking about nature destroying buildings and taking them into the sea, now we hear about governments doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteMore info and some pictures of the Sutro Baths in their heyday are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutro_Baths
ReplyDeleteYep, that whole area was indoor swimming pool.
Wouldn't you think they'd try to retrieve some of those gorgeous sculptures? What a waste.
ReplyDeleteThose pictures from underwater are fascinating, but submerged cities and artifacts have always caught my attention, for whatever reason!
ReplyDeleteSlowly eroding away. What a shame. I would hate to think the government just didn't care about the town, but really, who knows? Sad.
ReplyDeleteVery cool post !
ReplyDeleteCheers !
A wonderful contribution to the #atozchallenge with these interesting posts. Congratulations on this well done blog.
ReplyDeleteSweet. I once had an idea for a story called "The Staircase To The Bottom Of The Sea." Now I have a setting for that, too.
ReplyDeleteVeronica: I wonder what kinds of things you could find.
ReplyDeleteLexa: The stuff I was reading said that, yes, it is better preserved under water. However, some of it can't, now, be removed from the water without it disintegrating in the air.
Alex C: It was. A huge indoor swimming pool.
Rusty: For a culture so concerned with tradition, they can be awfully cavalier about their history.
Cathrina: Yeah!
Pat: It's too bad the "progress" in a lot of these instances is proving to be so destructive.
randi: I'm glad you like it!
Jo: Pretty much, yeah.
Sarah: Field trip!
Donna: I think they are retrieving some things, but a lot of those sculptures are attached to buildings.
Rebekah: They are pretty cool.
Elsie: I don't actually think they would have cared if they had known. And maybe they knew?
Rajiv: Thanks!
Stepheny: Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBriane: Now, I have an idea for one that starts at the bottom of the sea with a staircase up.
I've never heard of this underwater city. I always had a deep fascination with Atlantis though. Whether it's real or not. Neat pictures!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's cool. I'm not a diver, but wouldn't that be fun to explore?
ReplyDeleteIf the sunken city looked anything like that, it was quite impressive. Too bad they submerged it. I'm sure we could have learned a lot more from it on dry land.
ReplyDeleteChrys: I think there must have been a place called Atlantis at some point.
ReplyDeleteL.G.: It would be fun to explore.
Jeanne: It will be interesting to see what they find from it this way.
Fascinating! I love these pictures. So interesting.
ReplyDeleteStephsco: It is pretty fascinating.
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