Thousands of islands are located in Zhejiang, China, 150 km from Hangzhou. This is an artificial lake formed after the completion of the Xin'an River hydroelectric dam. In 1959, to build the Xin'anjiang reservoir, one had to release an area of radius up to 573 square kilometers to be able to store 17.8 cubic kilometers of water. After the lake was formed, it was called Ho thousand islands because there are 1,078 large islands and a few thousand smaller islands appear on the surface of the lake.
Xin'anjiang Lake
Thousands of islands are known for their clear blue water and are used in agriculture. It is also surrounded by lush forests and islands. Currently, the lake of thousands of islands has become a Chinese tourist destination with themed islands including Bird Island, Snake Island, Monkey Island, Lock Island, etc.
The islands rise to the surface of the vast lake
But what lies beneath the lake is probably more interesting and worthy of its own value, because before the valley was flooded, standing at the foot of Wu Shi mountain were the two ancient cities Shi Cheng and He Cheng. . Shi Cheng was built in 621 AD in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was once a political, economic, and cultural center of ancient China. established in 208 AD during the Han Dynasty (25 - 200 AD) as an economic center along the Xin'anjiang River.
The view from the top of the islands in the lake bed is very beautiful
Both He Cheng and Shi Cheng were submerged in water in September 1959 when the Chinese government decided to need a new hydroelectric power station and a reservoir to feed the growing population in Hangzhou. Together with the 2 old cities, there are 27 towns, 1,377 villages, nearly 50,000 acres of agricultural land and thousands of houses are flooded deep in the lake. About 290,000 people have been relocated to the project. The complete indifference of the government to the protection of ancient cities is a pity for these long historical values.
Many historical sites are sunk deep in the lake
Both the ancient cities of He Cheng and Shi Cheng remained forgotten for 40 years until 2001, when Qiu Feng, a local official in charge of tourism discussed ways to entertain on Qiandao Lake with a sentence. diving club in Beijing. He thought of diving into the water and looking at it is a good way to attract Chinese tourists to this place, and can better understand the forgotten historical value of the thousand years.
Xin'anjiang Lake is one of the largest artificial lakes in China
On September 18, 2001, when it was first dived to see the ancient towns submerged in water. Qiu answered in an interview: “We were lucky, as soon as we dived into the lake, we found the outer wall of the town and even took a brick. Qiu quickly reported his findings to the local authorities. As more research was conducted, it was discovered that the entire town, despite being flooded for decades, remained intact. Even wooden beams and stairs are well preserved in the water.
An old town sunk deep in the lake
In 2005, the local tourism bureau discovered three more old underwater villages. On January 7, 2011, the old town was assessed as a provincial monument. The following month, the National Geographic magazine of China printed a picture of the town. Local governments are excited to know that these ancient cities are still intact, even though they've been underwater for 50 years.
To restore the status quo to these historic sites, several proposals have been made to build a protective wall and pump water out of the city. However, this method is expensive, and the walls cannot maintain the pressure of water.
The government allows flooded towns to be opened to tourists. A 3.6-meter-high submarine with a capacity of 48 seats was built at a cost of 40 million yuan ($ 6.36 million) for underwater visits. But since it was completed in 2004, submarines have never been used. Local officials said the law did not allow submarines to dive into inland waters. Moreover, there are no rules governing civilian submarines. Even with official approval, submarines can cause strong currents to enter the water, possibly damaging buildings.
A stone wall
Some experts believe that the best thing to do now is to do nothing because technology is limited. Fang Minghua, former director of Chun'an's Heritage Management Office, said: “Before using the cultural relics, we should protect them. He said that at present, solutions do not offer feasible options.
Fang uses an example of two wooden beams from the ancient city which gradually shrinks when they are removed from the underwater environment and exposed to air. Water will protect the wood better; Exposure to air increases the likelihood of damage. Moreover, the walls may collapse due to the change of water flow. Fang said that sailing, fishing, or digging sand in nearby areas must be banned.
A picture that mimics ancient towns
At the end of 2002, the Institute of Mechanics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed to build an Archimedes bridge, also known as the floating tunnel. The Archimedes Bridge is a difficult project. Currently, there are 7 countries studying this issue, including Norway, Japan, Switzerland, Brazil and USA. If the Archimedes Bridge for Lake Qiandao succeeds, this will be the first Archimedes bridge in the world.
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