Once upon a time, an ancient city in China was named Lion City because Five Lion Mountain loomed large behind it. The city, also known as Shi Cheng, has been buried beneath the water for 53 years. Like the lost Incan City of Machu Picchu was ‘rediscovered,’ so was this lost underwater city that had been founded about 1,300 years ago. Lion City is now located about 85 – 131 feet (26-40 meters) beneath the gorgeous Thousand Island Lake (Qiandao Lake). This valley was submerged when a dam was constructed and a lake was needed. The lake and thousands of islands were man-made. Shi Cheng ‘defied’ the Chinese norm since 5 gates and 5 towers were built into the city instead of 4. Lion City is about the size of 62 football fields. International archaeologists and a film crew recorded the amazing perservation of the lost ‘ruins.’
More than half a century ago, the Chinese flooded Lion City, also called Shi Cheng. Recently Shi Cheng was explored by archaeologists who dubbed ‘Lion City’ as China’s ‘Atlantis rediscovered.’ Photo #1 by Chinese National Geography via Cheer All
Thousand Island Lake (Qiandao Lake) is a gorgeous man-made lake located in Zhejiang, China. Photo #2 by trasyy
The first underwater exploration attempt of the drowned city was in 2001 when it was discovered there were 265 arches in the preserved ruins. Lion City is about the size of 62 football fields. Photo (Drawing) #4 by Chinese National Geography
The valley was flooded in 1959 to create the lake for the Xin’an River Dam project. This is Xinanjiang Hydroelectric Station. Photo #3 by Dragon Moon Bay Hotel
According to Our World, “It was decided to make an underwater city accessible to tourists. Special submarine height of 3.8 meters and a length of 23 meters with a capacity of 48 passengers, was built over six million U.S. dollars to bring everyone in the underwater kingdom.” The proof-of-conceptarchimedes bridge, a submerged floating tunnel, was not finished and was “banned” to avoid damaging the “delicate undersea structures.” This image was captured in January 2011 as an underwater film crew tagged along with archaeologists to explore Qiandao Lake and the ancient Lion City. Photo #5 by Chinese National Geography via Animal World
This aerial shot of Thousand Island Lake is interesting, but even more interesting is what lies underneath in the Lost Lion City. Photo #6 by fotki
According to National Geography, as the dive depth increased beneath Qiandao Lake, ever darkening, it was almost all black by 28 meters underwater. The diving lights gave only about two meters of visibility and the submerged city is at a depth of 26-40 meters (85 – 131 feet). But they found out that even wooden beams and stairs were intact. Photo #7 by Our World
Intricate carvings engraved on buildings as seen when Chinese National Geography released images taken by archaeologists/divers rediscovering the the underwater ‘lost’ city. Photo #8 by Chinese National Geography
There is a chain of over 1,078 man-made large islands and a few thousand smaller ones at Qiandao Lake. Photo #9 by Oksana Lyutova
According to Chinese National Geography, “This is a restoration picture of Shicheng city in east China’s Zhejiang Province. The city has been submerged under Qiandao Lake since 1959 and the construction of the Xin’an River Hydropower Station.” Photo #10 by Chinese National Geography
Massive amount of fish on Yule Bridge, as seen while crossing one of the Thousand Lake Islands. Photo #11 by lenhz
This is called ‘Lovers Island.’ Photo #12 by Dragon Moon Bay Hotel
International archeologists said Lion City was an underwater ‘time capsule’. Wikipedia states, “At the foot of the Wu Shi mountain (Five Lion Mountain) lays an ancient city known as Shi Cheng (Lions City), built in Dong Han period (25 – 200), first was set up as county in 208, it was named ‘Lion City’ because of the Five Lion Mountain that sits just behind the city. The city remains undisturbed from the surface at a depth of 26-40m, Big Blue dive operator based in Shanghai, runs weekend trips twice a month throughout the year to the city and has started to uncover parts of the lost city.” Photo #14 by Chinese National Geography via1-4all
This was the ancient city in 2008. Photo #15 by Nihaopaul
Lion City had five city gates, each with a tower. Before it was buried beneath the water, Shicheng City had six main stone streets that were used to connect every corner of the city. Photo #16 by Chinese National Geography via 1-4all
Qiandao Hu fishing village as seen while touring Thousand Island Lake. Photo #17 by le niners
Cable cars over lush forests, another mode of transportation on Qiandaohu. Photo #18 by Daniel Hjort
Autumn at Qiandao Lake. Photo #19 by Patrick He
Deep beneath Thousand Island Lake used to be a political and economic hub of the region. Photo #20 by trasyy
Before Shi Cheng was submerged, 290,000 people had to be relocated from a city where their ancestors had lived in for over 1,300 years. Photo #21 by Daniel Hjort
Sunset over the Thousand Island Lake. Photo #22 by Dale Ellerm
Aerial shot of Quiando Lake. This is a tourist hotspot with ‘theme’ islands including Bird Island, Snake Island, Monkey Island, Lock Island and Island to Remind You of Your Childhood. Photo #23 by Our Planet
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