Qiandao Lake

The Xin'an River Hydroelectric Dam in 1963, shortly after its completion.Xin'an River Dam

The valley was flooded in 1959 to create the lake for the Xin'an River Dam project.[1] The dam that created the lake is located at 29°29′01″N 119°12′48″E / 29.48361°N 119.21333°E / 29.48361; 119.21333 (Xin'an Dam) and is 105 m (344 ft) tall with a crest length of 466.5 m (1,531 ft). Xin'an Dam was the first dam constructed in China with a height greater than 100 m (328 ft) and its power plant has an installed capacity of 845 MW.[2]

Submerged city of Shicheng

Remains of the submerged city of Shicheng.

Submerged in the lake, at the foot of Wushi Mountain (五狮山, "Five Lion Mountain"), lies an ancient city known as Shicheng (狮城, "Lion City"), and was the county seat of the defunct Sui'an County (遂安县), which was merged into Chun'an County due to the construction of Qiandao Lake. It was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–200) and was first set up as a county in AD 208. The city acquired its name from nearby Wushi (Five Lion) Mountain, which is now known as Wushi Island since it too became partially submerged by the reservoir. At present Shi Cheng remains well-preserved and undisturbed at a depth of 26–40 m (85–131 ft).[3]

Besides the city of Shi Cheng many other historic sites have been confirmed beneath the water.

Qiandao Lake incident

In 1994, in an event since named the Qiandao Lake Incident, three hijackers boarded a boat full of tourists and set it on fire, killing all 32 passengers on board. The passengers were mainly tourists from Taiwan.[4][5]

Archimedes bridge

In 1998, a Chinese-Italian consortium began planning the construction of a prototype of a submerged floating tunnel (also known as an Archimedes bridge), and decided in 2005 to build it across Qiandao Lake. The bridge, the first in the world of its kind, is expected to span 100 m (330 ft), as a proof of concept for larger bridges.[6][7][8]

^ "Qiandao Lake flooded". The International Camellia Journal (32–36): 25. 2000. Retrieved 18 February 2014. ^ "Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station". eTeacher Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2011. ^ "Dive the Ancient Ruins of Lion City at Qiandao Lake". Underwater Photography Guide. Retrieved 2021-12-22. ^ "Fire on the Lake" (PDF). International Committee for human right in Taiwan. Retrieved 18 February 2014. ^ Xin, Xin (2012). How the Market is Changing China's News: The Case of Xinhua News Agency. New York: Lexington Books. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7391-5097-9. ^ "'Archimedes Bridge' in China?". China Daily. December 18, 2001. Retrieved January 17, 2018. ^ "First Archimedes Bridge Prototype to Appear in Zhejiang". crienglish.com. April 19, 2007. Retrieved January 17, 2018.[dead link] ^ Mazzolani, F.M.; Faggiano, B.; Martire, G. (2010). "Design aspects of the AB prototype in the Qiandao Lake". Procedia Engineering. 4: 21–33. doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2010.08.005.