Lion City (ShiCheng) was founded about 1300 years ago in the modern province of Zhejiang. It was once the political and economic center of East China.
Shicheng before flooding.
In 1959, the city was deliberately flooded to make way for the Xin'an Dam, and then completely forgotten. More than three hundred thousand people who have lived there for several generations have been evacuated to create an artificial lake Qiandao (Thousand Islands).
Xinjiang Hydroelectric Power Station.
Shicheng "arose" again in 2001, when the PRC government sent an expedition to see what might be left of the lost city.
Thousand Islands Lake (Qiandao) - a magnificent man-made reservoir located in Zhejiang, China.
Research and underwater photographs showed that Shicheng lay blissfully underwater for over 50 years, and its architecture was reliably protected from wind, sun and rain.
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The wide streets have preserved stone sculptures and the relief of buildings. Even the wooden structures of the city remained intact.
The surface of Qiandao Lake looks calm and serene. Imagine the amazement of a man who stands on the shore, looking towards the distant islands, and discovers that an entire city is submerged beneath him.
Shicheng is honored to be the only functional city in the world to have been deliberately flooded for a modern engineering project. Underwater exploration captures the city's true splendor, architecture, culture and the lives of ordinary citizens.
Often referred to by travelers as "East Atlantis," the underwater city of Shicheng is a mysterious "time capsule" of imperial China.
