A trip to the the grasslands of northern Qinghai
Hardly a mecca for tourism but for those interested in the history of China's nuclear development, the government just opened up Qinghai for outsiders to come and visit.
From
CNN/Reuters:
Chinese nuke base open to tourists
China has declassified its first nuclear weapons base and is inviting tourists to visit the site, in a remote part of the northwestern province of Qinghai, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
Built in 1958 over more than 1,100 square km (680 miles) of the grasslands of northern Qinghai, the base was the birthplace of China's atomic and hydrogen bombs, but was closed in the late 1980s, Xinhua said.
China became a nuclear power in 1964.
"The underground headquarters of the nuclear weapons research and production base are a curiosity to many people. They can see the 'nuclear city' for themselves," the report quoted Zuo Xumin, an official in the mainly Tibetan region where the base is situated, as saying.
"The base will be developed into a key travel site, and it will become a platform for spurring the patriotic spirit of Chinese people," he said.
Opening the base is a rare move for China, where the definition of state secrets is notoriously broad and its weapons development is seen as highly sensitive.
The headquarters of the base comprises several rooms more than nine meters (30 feet) underground and reinforced with concrete, which originally held a research laboratory, electricity generation room, telegraph transmitting room and a command room.
A long way to travel but a fascinating history. We went for another acupuncture treatment today and our doctor studied traditional Chinese Medicine in China and speaks and writes Chinese. She interned at a hospital over there for a number of years and was today talking about a Radiologist who developed cancer because the equipment was so poorly designed and shielded. Amazing they got so far with such primitive equipment and technologies...
Posted by DaveH at May 3, 2007 9:44 PM