Today I will take in another trip. We will go far away in China to visit a forgotten city.

So, let’s go deep down in the water and find the story that lays ahead. The city is called the Lion city as it is at the foot of Wu Shi  Mountain which is translated as the ” Five Lion Mountain” , from which it drew the name of Lion city. The city was built around the Eastern Han Dynasty time (25-200 A.D.) but unfortunately in 1959 was on purpose submerged to make way  for  Xia’an  River Dam Project and to be built an hydroelectric central, many people lost their home and also  they almost lost  a piece of their history.

The city of Lions laid forgotten under  water for many years, but one day  in 2001 was  rediscovered when the government organized an expedition to see what remained of the submerged city that once stood proudly.

A Chinese city, forgotten after it was flooded when the government built a dam that turned the valley it was in into a lake, has resurfaced as an underwater adventure park for tourists. The ancient city of Shi Cheng was also known as the Lion City because it was located in the province of Zhejiang, where it was surrounded by the five Lion Mountains. Founded over 1,300 years ago, it vanished from view 53 years ago when the Chinese government decided they needed a new hydroelectric power station. A dam was built to create a man-made lake, and as the water rose, the city was left at the bottom of this new found body of water. Depending on where on the lake bottom it is, the city is between 85 and 131 feet underwater. And there it remained forgotten until Qiu Feng, a local official in charge of tourism, introduced the idea of using Shi Cheng as a destination for diving clubs. For the first try it was a voyage of discovery, and Qui said: “We were lucky. As soon as we dived into the lake, we found the outside wall of the town and even picked up a brick to prove it.” It was later discovered that the entire town was intact, including wooden beams and stairs. Now the city had attracted interest from archaeologists and a film crew has been on site to record the preservation of the lost ruins.

A Chinese city, forgotten after it was flooded when the government built a dam that turned the valley it was in into a lake, has resurfaced as an underwater adventure park for tourists. The ancient city of Shi Cheng was also known as the Lion City because it was located in the province of Zhejiang, where it was surrounded by the five Lion Mountains. Founded over 1,300 years ago, it vanished from view 53 years ago when the Chinese government decided they needed a new hydroelectric power station. A dam was built to create a man-made lake, and as the water rose, the city was left at the bottom of this new found body of water. Depending on where on the lake bottom it is, the city is between 85 and 131 feet underwater. And there it remained forgotten until Qiu Feng, a local official in charge of tourism, introduced the idea of using Shi Cheng as a destination for diving clubs. For the first try it was a voyage of discovery, and Qui said: “We were lucky. As soon as we dived into the lake, we found the outside wall of the town and even picked up a brick to prove it.” It was later discovered that the entire town was intact, including wooden beams and stairs. Now the city had attracted interest from archaeologists and a film crew has been on site to record the preservation of the lost ruins.

Fortunately they discovered that the city  got very well preserved in water. The city  measure a half of square km, has 5 gates and towers, the city has  wide streets and also 265 archways well preserved, and a lot of stonework well preserved such as beautiful lions, dragons, etc. The oldest inscription that was found dates as far as 1777.  It is believed that the city walls dates since 16 century.  Unfortunately such a beautiful city had to be submerged, fortunately people can see a bit  the beauty of the city by diving in the water between 25m- 40 m.

Here you can read more about diving in, is an article of someone who did it http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/dive-qiandao-lake-china   or  just watch a video that I found on the internet https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=js_vfTnEJ90  

I hope you enjoyed and that your curiosity grew and made you want to know more about this place.