Underground Great Wall


Useful Information

Location: Xiong county, Yongqing area.
Open:
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Dimension: L=90,000 m, AR=1,600 km².
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Address: Underground Great Wall.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History

1948 flood uses passage.
1951 underground fortress discovered, by the cave in of a house.
2006 listed as national protected cultural relic of China.
2006 opened to the public.

Description

During the Song Dynasty (916-1125), in the years between 960 and 1127, this area was a battlefield between the states Song and Liao. Liao occupied part of the Song state, and the Song built a military defense line, which was expanded during a 200 year long period of war.

The ancient structure was completely forgotten until 1948. A great flood happening in Yongqing village, Hebei province, was about to destroy the whole village, when it was stopped with a thunderous noise. The course of the flood was changed, the water level sank, as the water was flowing into an underground passage. In 1951 an underground cave some 150m² in size was discovered, after a house 2.5 km from Yongqing had caved in. Dozens of small doors in this cavern were opening to a passageway each. Ancient war passages were found, spreading throughout Yongqing County, covering an area of some 300 square kilometers.

The underground bulwark is of enormous size, 90 km of tunnels which cover an area 65 km from east to west, and 25 km from north to south, which is an area of 1,600m². Most of it is a long tunnel along the border, similar to the Great Wall, that is why it is called Underground Great Wall It consists of a wide range of military facilities, camouflaged exits, covers, and locking gates. A frontier pass between the rivalling states was fortified by an underground fortress. But it also has living necessities, with ventilation holes, and lamp stands integrated into the walls. There were brick beds, with some basic comfort, as they could be heated during winter.