China's underground cities , prep for nuke war

roma

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China has been preparing underground cities for ages even since the time of Mao as in the article quoted below.

So any use of Nukes against chinese cities will haev to take that into account , otherwise you are nuking the surface while they are taking cover far below

i believe the usa has been dedveloping nuke capable missiles which can penetrate the surface , does india ??

here's the artlcle ....goes a long way back to the days of Mao

( there are lots of photos so , it may not copy too well into this post )


CHAIRMAN MAO?S UNDERGROUND CITY Viceland Today



CHAIRMAN MAO’S UNDERGROUND CITY


In 1969, Chairman Mao commanded the construction of a second Beijing beneath the surface of the original city, designed to accommodate all six million of its then inhabitants so that if nuclear war did kick off, folk would still have somewhere to hang out and play Mah Jong while the rest of us burnt to death in a shower of atomic rain. War never came, but the city is still there.


To be fair to the Chairman, by that time he was lost in the midst of those closing dark days of China’s brutal cultural revolution; the onset of motor neurone disease had shifted his ongoing descent into madness up to warp speed. No one really knows how much of the subterranean nuclear metropolis was actually completed, or just how far the network of underground tunnels and caverns was due to be extended, though it’s generally believed they connected up with all of Beijing’s main hubs and governmental locations, including Tiananmen Square, Beijing’s Central Station, and the Western Hills. Having never been fully operational, it is largely forgotten and neglected these days. In fact, most Beijingers aren’t even aware it exists.



It’s pretty hard to get down there now, but by a few deft strokes of magical luck during my last visit to Beijing I got put in touch with a friend of a friend of someone who knew a guy who heard a story of a bloke with a mate who had an access point down into the tunnels built incongruously into the back room of his small house in the center of the Hutong district of town. On the condition that we didn’t reveal the exact location of the access point, his identity, or how much of a bribe we paid, he agreed to take us down.



It was always going to be highly unlikely that the police would ever pick up on us going down there, but obviously, getting busted would be ****ing awful and our guide was skulking like he was being followed by searchlights and sniffer dogs as he lead us through the back streets towards the entrance point: this dilapidated shop.



We corkscrewed down several unlit staircases before reaching an underground thoroughfare. Incredibly, despite the tunnel network reaching between eight to eighteen meters underground, the Beijing electricity board are still pumping the volts through the crumbling artifice – here and there the light switches still worked.


As we got deeper, the groundwater level rose. Soon we were up to our knees in freezing cold, shitty, disease-ridden slop. Here the lighting was a bit more volatile. Sometimes it worked, sometime the water-damaged bulbs would explode above our heads as soon as we flicked the switch.




Most paths – if they weren’t already flooded beyond accessibility – were blocked up with wood or trash. Our guide insisted that if we were to shift all the wood to get over the top, we’d be able to get all the way to Tiananmen Square, where the tunnels are apparently large enough to accommodate rolling tank processions.





It has periodically been put back into use – for local council storage space, depressing accommodation for manual laborers shipped in en-masse from the countryside, or for mad raves held by daring Chinese punks wearing miners’ headlamps. But much of it has also been concreted up, flooded, or destroyed to make way for Beijing’s new subway train network.



For a time, a small portion of it was also opened as a tourist attraction, done up to look as it would have if Mao’s underground utopia had ever come to fruition, but has since been shut down again after Beijing backpackers spoke with their wallets and realized they liked spending their money on cheap Chinese rice liquor more than on exploring empty, rat-infested tunnels.







As we snooped around we found various rooms in different states of disrepair. I guess this is where the proposed underground restaurants, offices, hospitals, schools, theaters, factories, and even roller skating rink would have ended up.



Here’s some evidence of the tunnels being multi-layered, though here the upper floor has been blocked off, or was never completed.




As we wandered on a bit, we found a couple of tiny bedrooms – one complete with damaged old posters on the walls. Great place to bring a girl back to.



Further down the flooded path, we found a few fading tokens of the dream that built this barren bunker.




A crumpled picture of the man himself, and a commemorative plaque reminding everyone to be good communists by “digging deep tunnels, storing more food, not seeking hegemony.” That’s always been my motto.



Here’s a bit of a map we found that gives you an idea of the complexity of the tunnels.



Then something quite unexpected happened. As we walked further, presumably close to another ground level exit, we spotted lights already on ahead of us, and a couple of rather pleasant potted plants.



Turns out the People’s Republic of China are still pushing their proles underground, and some poor folk are actually living down here as a testament to Beijing’s swelling population and housing problems.


Just because they’re on a washing line doesn’t mean they’ve ever been washed.



Look! More proof people live down here – a big kitchen!


And most charming of all, this recent innovation in toilet socialism: fully exposed, communal squat shitters.


Our guide started to get anxious that we were seeing too much and our feet were now soaked and freezing…

CHAIRMAN MAO?S UNDERGROUND CITY Viceland Today
 

Minghegy

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The underground city in the pictures was too narrow and outmoded.

Here are some new underground cities, very very huge.
They are called "underground nuclear greatwall", some of them were built since 1970s.







 

roma

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minhegy - those are great photos

and they confirm the idea that underground cities are a feature of life in china - they are preparing for something or what eh ? and i guess they are building more and more so that enemy forces cant bomb just one or two areas but i guess this concept is being or has been applied throughout China ? thanks for your post
 

Minghegy

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Oh, no, people still live above the ground. They are called "underground nuclear greatwall", are primarily for keeping the capability of nuclear counter-attack.

Maybe some guys scare of them, they ask"What do Chinese want to do? A world war?", I can tell you responsibly that is not true.

If a guy study Chinese civilization, he will found Chinese have two characters, one is always want to build something, the other is cautious. So there's nothing surprising about those cities.

Maybe many years later, we can visit them just as visit greatwall.
 

roma

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yes those certainly are great qualities, to build and to be cautious ! ..... My real hope for India and China for the next decade is .... PEACE !!!
 

Minghegy

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yes those certainly are great qualities, to build and to be cautious ! ..... My real hope for India and China for the next decade is .... PEACE !!!
That's my hope too.:india:
 
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These underground cities are designed for the priveleged few, there is no way they can accomadate 1.2 billion + population.
 

Minghegy

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These underground cities are designed for the priveleged few, there is no way they can accomadate 1.2 billion + population.
You are right, most people can't escape to them.

However China's mobile ICBM launch vehicles are running under the ground, none knows where are they, it's indestructible, IMHO this is the best idea for nuclear counter-attack.
 

roma

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These underground cities are designed for the priveleged few, there is no way they can accomadate 1.2 billion + population.

hmmm ... the term "priviledged few " would IMHO include the necessary military manpower to protect and also a huge population to survive and re-populate ? so in effect my guess is that we are probably talking about housing millions underground . Anything less would be a waste of time and effort an i have never know a government like China's to get involved in a wasteful projsct . So whats your take ? i think they are capable of housing literally millions , at least 10 million underground for say two years . complete with food supply , air supply, in effect, all it takes to live comfortably undergorund !!
 

Minghegy

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They are enough for privilege people, scientists, elites, important equipments, rebuild machine, etc.
 

hitmanjake

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These underground cities are designed for the priveleged few, there is no way they can accomadate 1.2 billion + population.

geeeee, of course they cannot accomadate 1.2 billion people, and its not suppose to, its about surviving a nuclear strike.

its a means of counter the frequent nuclear blackmail from the soviets and americans during the cold war
 

amoy

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ya, lots of such tunnels mostly built in 1960-70's as asylums for fear of nuke attacks.. many were converted to underground shopping centres or for vegetable/fruit storage long ago.
those pictures are quite reminiscent of bygones.
 

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