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Hangzhou thousands of islets diving trip for ancient underwater city

Post Time: Jan 04 2012 By Lily

These recent years, phoenix town of Hunan, Lijiang of Yunnan, Shangli town of Sichuan, etc have already been the hot tourist attractions. People want to experience a kind of quaint peaceful life and it seems that more quaint small ancient towns to be more artistic. It might be even better if these small towns can have some and celebrity related cultural relics to do an ornament.

When talking the ancient towns, I believe most parts of people never heard about there is a ancient town in Chun’an county of Zhejiang province. Why is it little-known? Because this ancient city is hiding under the halcyon and green water of The Thousand Islands of Chun’an county. How does this word say? This is to the Thousand Islands origin. . In 1959,the government built a new Anjiang hidroelektra staciow which barrier dam water storage formed the thousand islet lake, but a one hundred years old city was submerged in more than 20 meters under the surface of the deep pools

After half a century, this almost forgotten ancient city goes back to people's perspective. While less rainfall and the clear lake water in the winter, our line of divers come to the thousand islet lake, ducked to the old city underwater, unveiling it slowly covered the decades of veil.

There is an arch of this ancient city, a lot of life-like patterns were carved on this delicate arch, and many of them symbolize imperial power of the unicorn and dragon and phoenix. These means this arch has great background, and many unknown stories behind it.

The history of this old city should be traced back to Ming dynasty; the most historic value is the clearly visible of the imperial edict sacred words on the arch. On right side of decree engraving of “”filial piety“, “Wang Shi” such words, but under the imperial edict is a looming line of XX years of emperor qianlong, it might be issued by the qing dynasty emperor qianlong's for Wang’s family’s filial piety. Why emperor qianlong issued such imperial edict to wang shi? And what is moving story of wang shi? I am not a historian, also not archaeologists, just a diving lover. The context of the story only has to be investigated by by professionals

In the early morning, diving tea with 10 pax rented three local fishing boats separately, 4 people per boat, driving to a unknown island of the ancient city.

Foggy day in the cold winter day

Heavy fog disappeared. It takes about more than 1 hour by boat driving from Chunan pier to the island, passing through this lighthouse on the way

After an hour of cold winds, we finally came to the island, removing the diving equipments, oxygen tanks.

In the underwater diving, will lost body temperature faster, people will feel very cold when dive in 27 degrees below the water temperature

the water temperature is 16 degree in the morning here, if you wear the usual diving wet clothes in water, will be frozen into a popsicle. So we all take diving dry garment, inside can wear sweaters socks and warm clothes

But diving with dry garment is more difficult to control than with wet clothes which needs a certain training before launching. Finally sinking slowly came to the ancient city wall.

Underwater visibility is not so good, about two meters. Impressively, the traditional Chinese eaves come to eyes.

Richly Ornamented on city wall a variety of patterns vividly on the wall

What does it look like a loin in the lotus flowers

Furniture carving picture from right side to see the dragon’s head and beard

from left side to see the dragon’s head Phoenix flies to the wall

Below the Imperial edict are words of emperor qianlong. At this time, some diving teammates flocked here water is muddy so that shooting effect is very fuzzy

It is said that when water storage because of fears of residence will be washed to the dam, influence power generation, all the wooden doors and windows, roofs were dismantled houses insides the walls have been demolished out of recognition, only ruins left. We turn around arch and city wall, then surface and get on the boats.

It's getting late, it is time to take fishing boats back to the starting.

Sunlight lofty, triumphant return.

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