After about 2 & half hour drive from Chengde to Beijing, in which Dear & I slept pretty much inside our Chinese driver Sifu’s van, we arrived at the Beijing Underground City (or “Bei Jing Dixia Cheng” in Chinese).

Dear & I were so excited upon knowing that Beijing has an Underground City we’d been so earger to visit it!!

The following Slideshow contains photos of us arriving at the Beijing Underground City, located at the neighbourhood of the Beijing Beixiang Feng Hutongs :

For more than 20 years, Beijing’s Underground City, a Bomb Shelter just beneath the Ancient Capital’s Downtown area, has been virtually forgotten by local Citizens, despite being well-known amongst foreigners since it officially opened in 2000. In fact, many Chinese locals are not even aware that there’s an Underground City in Beijing!

Entrance to the Underground City :

Dear standing outside the Underground City Entrance :

Due to renovations going on at the Underground City, we had to walk to another section of the Underground City where there was no renovation.

Toilet break first : 

Haha, I finally saw an OPEN with NO Door Toilet in Beijing!! All of us ladies could see one another while using this Toilet!! Could you imagine that?!!!

After our Toilet break, we started walking though the Hutongs alleys to the other Underground City Entrance for our tour.

I’ve put the photos of our interesting walk through the Hutongs narrow alleys overseeing the backyards of the Hutongs, to the other Underground City Entrance, in the following Slideshow :

Arriving at the Entrance of the other Underground City Entrance :

See the huge Chain at the Entrance - the Underground City is usually locked up

for safety reasons : 

We soon met up with the below young lady Soldier who was to be our tour guidefor our

Underground City Tour - & she was one good friendly guide who spoke real good English too!!

Door to the Underground City :

As photography was not allowed in the Underground City, these several photos below were taken from above & outside the Entrance :

The Underground City has also been called the Underground Great Wall, since they had the same purpose - Military defense. This complex is a relic of the Sino-Soviet border Conflict in 1969 over the Zhenbao Island in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Amur River - when Chairman Mao ZeDong ordered the construction of subterranean Bomb Shelters in case of Nuclear Attack.

The Tunnels, built from 1969 to 1979 by more than 300000 local Citizens & School Children (volunteers), wind for over 30 km & covers an area of 85 Square km, 8 to 18 Metres under the surface. And the temperature inside the Tunnels is maintained at 18 degrees Celsius throughout the year!

Engineers were said to have built a Secret network of Tunnels connecting the Residences of Party Leaders at Zhong Nan Hai, to the Great Hall of the People, & the numerous Military Bases near Ba Da Chu, to the West of Town.

It’s said that the Tunnels link all areas of Central Beijing, from Xidan & Xuanwumen, to Qianmen & Chongwen Districts, to as far as the Western Hills, & that every Residence once had a Secret Trapdoor nearby leading to the Tunnels. In the event of Attack, 40 percent of the Capital’s population could be housed underground, & the remainders were to move to the neighbouring Hills.

Besides, there’s an Underground Passage that goes from Beijing all the way to Tianjin!! And there’re actually also many other Cities in China who have Underground Cities!! And to imagine that the Underground Cities were all built all hands!! The Chinese are just so amazing!!

To supply the construction materials for the Underground City, centuries-old City Walls & Towers that once circled Ancient Beijing, were destroyed. The Old City Gates of Xizhimen, Fuchengmen, Chongernmen, & others remain in name only - cos only 2 embrasure Watchtowers “Zhengyangmen” (City Gate Tower), & “Jianlou” (Archery Tower) survived.

The Underground City was equipped with Facilities such as Stores, Restaurants, Clinics, Schools, Theatres, Reading Rooms, Factories, a Roller Skating Rink, a Grain & Oil Warehouse, as well as Barber Shops & a Mushroom Cultivation Farm, for growing foods that only requires little light. In addition, there’re also a thousand anti-air Raid structures!

Over 2300 elaborate Ventilation shafts were installed, & Gas & Waterproof hatches were constructed to prevent Insiders from Chemical Attack & Radioactive Fallout. There’re also more than 70 sites inside the Tunnels to dig wells.

However, the Underground City was never needed for its intended purpose, though it’s been maintained by City Officials. Water Conservancy Authorities check it every year during rainy seasons, & it’s included anti-vermin sweeps too!

Since March 2007, a Brigade of over 12000 Engineers began Construction of the Underground CIty at 12 separate Sites in Beijing.

According to Official plans (led directly by the State Council & Central Military Commission), the Beijing Underground City will occupy 20 million Square Metres & its completion is scheduled for the year 2012.

The future Underground City will link up its 11 Districts & 7 Counties through 20 main lines of communication. Command Centres will be located in the East, South, West & North sides of the City, with 12 to 16 Sub-centres throughout. In times of Peace, 52 exits will be available, while in times of War or Emergencies, 128 to 168 sites will be opened for evacuating inhabitants & deploying materials.

The Underground City will be linked to the Chinese Communist Party - CCP’s Central compound, including Government & Military, Military bases, Airports, Railways, Strategic roads, Parks & Suburban strongholds.

Tourists coming up & out of the Underground City - we had to wait for these people to come out before we could enter :

Beginning of our Underground City Tour (photography not allowed) - The Tunnels inside the Underground City were large, dark, damp but very cooling - really enjoyable for Dear & I who both love cool weather! Walking one pretty short round inside, seeing some pretty eerie dark Tunnels, & being led by the Lady Soldier, we saw Mao ZeDong Portrait, as well as his slogan calling for people to Dig Deep, Prepare Provisions & Not to Seek Hegemony, printed on the Walls. We also saw vacant facilities which were once meant to be Hospitals, Restaurants, Schools, Theatres etc.

We then visited an Underground Silk Souvenirs Workshop where we observed the Silk-making process, & the pulling apart of the Silk blanket etc. And haha of course I missed seeing the first part of that process where the “animals” (Silkworm Cocoons) were involved!! Out of my fear, I would go as far away as possible from the huge crowd gathering to watch the Silk-making process where they show the “animals” wherever I travel to, be it Suzhou, or the Silk Road & now here in Beijing!!

I’d wanted to buy a Silk embroidered jacket for both myself & Mom but the designs were not great & the sizes were not too right too! How disappointing, unlike in Shanghai & Suzhou where I could find many pretty ones!! 

Hey see the following photos of the Underground City where we toured!! Heehee, yea yea I know I know that photgraphy was not allowed inside the Underground City, but after chatting with our tour guide on the importance of the secrecy of the City, on why photography is not allowed cos of not wanting the Underground tunnels to be leaked out, yet the City is still open to Tourists visits & tours etc etc, I decided then it was really harmless to take some photos of it just like so many other tourists heehee!!

So here they are, my photos of the Underground world of Beijing - though they were badly taken & kinda dark & blur cos I actually took them quietly & secretly when our tour guide was not around, so frightening to get caught haha!!

Underground Vacant Room with Wooden Cupboards :

Ventilation Hole above Tunnel :

Another Vacant Eeerie Room :

White Basins for washing outside very dark eerie Toilets which TIMID me dared not use at all haha!! Well, actually I tried - I went in but came out immediately cos it was simply too dark & kinda eerie as though I was about to be suffocated!!

Tunnel towards the Toilets :

Tunnel towards the Underground Silk Souvenirs Workshop, where Dear’s standing at the end of the Tunnel :

See the below dark red carpet - that’s the way to the Underground Silk Souvenirs Workshop where we visited :

The Underground Silk Souvenirs Workshop - Dear among the Chinese Paintings :

After spending sometime inside the Underground Silk Souvenirs Workshop, it was time to go on up to the Beijing surface from the underground, & we made a left turn from outside the Silk Souvenirs Workshop below, & walked up the Tunnel :

We’re now outside the Underground City - Me with the young lady Soldier our tour guide of our Underground City Tour, who said that we should both take some photos together since I was telling her how I liked her Soldier uniform!

And then our tourmate Uncle handcuffed my hand to the chain from behind cos he said it would be nice for my photos showing that I was like a prisoner to this lady Soldier of China!! Haha so funny making all of us laugh!!

Dear outside the Underground City Entrance/Exit :

Dear & I had an interestingly wonderful tour of the Beijing Underground City, though I wished it was not so short but much longer like may be walking & touring the whole long stretch of the Tunnels (the Passage) from Beijing to Tianjin!! Haha think I’m being too ambitious heehee may be just half the stretch would be great enough!! Well, dream on!!!

We soon walked back from where we came from via the Hutongs alleys & below is a photo of Dear & I standing infront of a traditional wooden Gate of a vacant Hutongs Courtyard House :

The following Slideshow contains photos of our walk back to our Chinese driver Sifu’s van via the Hutongs alleys :