After the state grab following World War II , a vast sea ofcommunistred sprinkle across Eastern Europe , all the way of life to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans . When China join the fray after Mao Tse - tung ’s communist revolution in 1949 , Eura­sia was almost completely communist . The USSR ’s engagement in theCold Waragainst the U.S. captured the world ’s attention from 1947 to 1991 , when the Soviet Union crumbled . While the tension between the Soviets and Americans never escalated into an armed dispute , the same ca n’t be allege for tensions between China and the USSR .

It stands to reason that under communistic control , neighbor China and the USSR would get along like the United States and Canada – bordering Carry Amelia Moore Nation with a shared visual sensation of government . This was n’t the case .

The two states fought over margin begin in the 17th century during the reigns of the Romanoff czars and the Ming Dynasty . These tensions continued into the mid-20th C and finally boiled over into armed conflict in the spring of 1969 . At the helm were Soviet Premier   Leonid Brezhnev   and China ’s Chairman Mao . While   4,500 nautical mile ( 7,242 km ) of theSino - Sovietborder between the nations were under dispute , it was a flyspeck island in the Ussuri River along ­China ’s eastern edge with the USSR that led to gore .

­The Chinese attacked a Soviet delimitation patrol sauceboat in March 1969 , result 24 soviet dead . Throughout the ensue spring , other armed border skirmishes broke out . One battle in 1969 impart 800 Taiwanese dead in a struggle in which the Soviets unleashed aircraft , tanks and missile and miss just 60 of their own soldiers [ source : American University ] . After this undeniable victory , the Soviets issue veiled threats of further violence should any more moulding contravention come up .

Mao Tse - tung come out to have taken the Soviet threats seriously . That same class , an emergency evacuation­ architectural plan was hatched in the case of a Soviet encroachment of China ’s capital , Beijing . About 60 percent of the universe was to run to the hills if the Soviet tanks undulate into Ithiel Town . But what of the other 40 percent ? They had another place to hide . Read the next page to find out where .

Beijing’s Underground Hideout

With   the Soviets breathe down his body politic ’s metaphoric neck , Chairman Mao order the construction of a Brobdingnagian underground metropolis to attend as a shelter during an intrusion , air raid ornuclear war .

This was no minor project . In the late sixties , the universe ofBeijingreached 7.5 million house physician [ source : CPIRC ] . In short order , the residents of the capital urban center were put to work excavating their enormous line foray tax shelter . Most of the digging was done by bridge player , and the study was shared by adults and schoolchildren likewise . This communal venture fit nicely into Chairman Mao’sCultural Revolution– a massive crusade to support thecommunistmovement and bilk counterrevolutionary mind . From 1969 to 1979 , the mass of Beijing focused their attention underground .

When theDixia Cheng(underground city ) was make out , it was adequate to of housing 300,000 people for about four months [ source : Time ] . Between 26 to 60 feet ( 8 to 18 m ) beneath the city , tunnels extend about 18 nautical mile ( approximately 30 kilometer ) in length and spread over a more than 52 square statute mile orbit ( 85 straightforward kilometre ) [ reservoir : Zhiyong ] . Ancient city Bill Gates throughout the metropolis wererecycledinto construction material for the tunnel . Secret entrance aboveground were located in shops , homes and parks around Beijing . A mapping of the burrow drawn using a fluorescent mass medium to render it invisible to the naked ( Soviet ) eye was find on the paries of one of these shop class [ source : Lonely Planet ] .

The massive bomb shelter building complex was never used for its intended purpose . Had the occasion arisen , the Beijing occupant who made it underground would n’t have give out easy . The Dixia Cheng is outfitted with ventilation shafts that resistfalloutfrom atomic , biologic and chemical ( NBC ) weapons . In addition to the safety machine leave by the depth of the burrow , the complex is fit out with turkey shelters . Other chambers in supplemental tunnel held grain , weapons and other supplies . The undercover city also has site for growing cloud-covered crop like mushrooms and areas prepare for well boring [ source : Zhiyong ] .

subterraneous dwellers would n’t have died of boredom , either . classroom were construct for the children dwell in the belowground city , and comforts find aboveground like a picture show dramatics , barber shops , eatery and a crimper skating rink were all expect the floodlight of Beijingers seeking shelter underground from Soviet bombs .

After the USSR disintegrate , and Beijing was no longer under the threat of attack , the underground city lost its purpose . Its universe fade into obscureness and conjecture . In 2000 , the Dixia Cheng launch new life as a tourist destination ( it ’s inexplicably not open to Chinese visitors ) . Most of the complex is shut off ; a mere fraction of it is open to tours , and some businesses have set up up shop in the assailable areas . A few air raid shelters are now hostels for thrifty travelers . Urban explorers ' unsanctioned investigations of the untouched portions of the tunnel have yielded paper of a labyrinth frozen in sentence : bill of Chairman Mao still adorning rampart of rooms where berth bed stand silently [ reference : CNN ] .

As the 2008 Olympics approached , Beijing officials reinvigorated territorial dominion in the metropolis . This included tearing down some of the shops that housed the most well - known entrances to the hush-hush metropolis . Some are awful that the Dixia Cheng will be fall behind eternally : Without entree and the luminescent map to show the way , Beijing ’s Dixia Cheng may generate to its sheet of privateness .

For more information on Beijing and other related topics , chitchat the next varlet .

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