At the end of the 1960s, when the relationship between China and the USSR was more tense than a violin string, the Mao Zedong government made a decision, very much in line with the Cold War: it was necessary to prepare for an attack nuclear. So far, things are not surprising. In 1969 both communist powers had collided in Zhenbao and we had to be ready for the worst case scenario. The funny thing is how they did it. The authorities decided to build a huge underground city under Beijing, a network of galleries and bunkers capable of accommodating half the city’s population if necessary. Today Dìxià Chéng is a forgotten city under the skin of the capital.
The vast network of tunnels was built during the 1970s thanks largely to the work of 300,000 residents, winding for 30 kilometers at eight to 18 meters deep and covering an area of 85 km2. Along its route, a thousand anti-aircraft structures are distributed with a design
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