Underground City

The Underground City is an extensive tunnel system running beneath Beijing's streets, containing shelter spaces, storage facilities, and emergency rooms built to protect hundreds of thousands. The passages are reinforced with thick concrete and divided into different zones for various functions.

Construction began in 1969 when tensions between China and the Soviet Union ran high, lasting roughly a decade to complete. This vast network was built as protection against potential military threats to the city.

The tunnels show how civil defense was understood in the 1970s, with thick concrete walls and passages built to shelter hundreds of thousands if war came.

The site is not open to visitors today, having been closed to the public in 2008 and remaining inaccessible for tours. You can learn about its history through museums and documentary sources instead.

So much earth was excavated during tunneling that workers piled it into five artificial hills now scattered across Beijing parks. These mounds remain visible today and testify to the immense scale of the underground project.

GPS coordinates: 39.89990,116.40600

Latest update: December 6, 2025 22:00