Ancient underwater cities

Before the Xin’an River Reservoir came into being, two cities nearly 2,000 years old became the “Atlantis of China.”

Shicheng and Hecheng were once commercial hubs in ancient Huizhou. Old city walls, memorial gates, stone lions and Huizhou-style houses now sleep under the waters of Qiandao

Lake.

Scientific exploration in recent years showed that most of the constructions are still intact. Divers have managed to identify meeting halls, foundling houses, 11 memorial gates and other buildings, mapping out a general layout of the two cities.

A submarine called Tianqing was built about 20 years ago, with the aim of taking people underwater to see the remains of the cities, but the plan was scuttled because of legal and safety issues. Experts worried that the walls and gates couldn’t stand the stirring of a submarine.

In 1998, a Chinese-Italian consortium began planning a submerged floating underwater tunnel that would allow visitors to “walk” near the ruins, but it never became reality. In 2012, the Chun’an government banned underwater tourism development completely. Individual diving was also banned, leaving the ancient cities to rest in peace.

Shicheng was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-200). Visitors today can get a glimpse, of sorts, of its former grandeur at a replica built on the banks of the lake.

There, they can walk on facsimile streets and stay in imitation hotel rooms.

It’s all ironic. While the real relics lie underwater nearby, people relive their past only through replicas that look very new.