This Lake Looks Perfectly Normal Until You See What Lies Beneath Its Surface...

By | April 19, 2016

Not more than 300 kilometers from the east coast of Zhejiang province, China sits Qiandao Lake.

With its clear water and lush islands of white sands, the place looks picture-perfect. But something far more special lies 130 feet beneath the lake's surface - the ancient Chinese city of Shicheng.

 
Would you ever think an ancient city lies beneath this?

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The city was abandoned over half a century ago when a dam flooded the valley where it stood.

But what made the story of Shicheng (which is Mandarin for Lion City) unique from other underwater cities it that it was flooded intentionally in 1959. They did this in order construct the Xin'an Dam and its accompanying hydroelectric station. Nearly 300,000 residents were relocated, some of them had a lineage in the city that spanned centuries.

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The city of Shicheng was once the center of politics and economics of eastern Zhejiang, and stayed that way for 1,300 years.

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Now, the once thriving metropolis sits at the bottom of Qiandao Lake.

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Incredibly, many of the structures still stand as they were more than 50 years ago.

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And much of the wooden components of its architecture are still almost intact.

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Several film crews have visited over the years to record the preservation of the ancient ruins. And there's clearly a lot to capture.

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This is a 100-year-old sketch of the city, showing people walking the streets and goods being carted in on horseback.

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The newly-built lake, which has generated hydro-electric power for the region, is just south of Shanghai.

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H/T DailyMail