China's Secret Underground Nuclear City

Welcome to AU Mercury! Project 816 is an unfinished Chinese underground nuclear weapons production facility. Nearly 20 years, 60,000 people, 20+ km of tunnels, 104,000 m² total floor area, suddenly, the project was abandoned. In this video, let’s go back to this part of history of China and explore why the country started the project and why it was suddenly stopped before it was almost finished. --------------------------------------------------------- REFERENCES & CREDITS Footage Sources: • Google Earth • Pexels | Ammad Rasool • Pexels | Kampus Production • Pexels | Engin Akyurt • Baidu • Baike • Wikipedia • CCTV • Instagram | whitehousehistory • Sohu • baijiahao.baidu.com • jiemian.com • lzbs.com.cn • nsarchive.gwu.edu • therealchina.org • m.thepaper.cn • m.thecover.cn • hx.cnd.org • cmsfiles.zhongkefu.com.cn • heb.hebccw.cn • cpc.people.com.cn • cq.news.cn • cq.people.com.cn • fl.gov.cn • jmqmil.sina.cn • m.cnr.cn • news.cctv.com • news.qq.com • ourchinastory.com • rmzxw.com.cn Music Credits: • Pixabay | Music by Crab_Audio; AlisiaBeats; Tatamusic; AudioCoffee; Coma-Media; Tunetank References / Research Sources: • "The Mysterious 8342 Unit and 'The World's Largest Artificial Cave' — Project 816 Underground Nuclear Engineering." Six Cheng (六丞), Baijiahao, 2023-03-03. • "In 1966 Chairman Mao Personally Pushed a Top-Secret Project; 18 Years Later, Deng Xiaoping Suddenly Halted It — What Was the Inside Story?" Childhood History (童年心中得历史), Baijiahao, 2024-02-18. • "A Mark of the Third Front Era: A Brief Account of Chongqing's Project 816." Tan Mi Shi Guang (探秘时光), Baijiahao, 2026-05-19. • "Project 816 Site" — Baidu Baike encyclopedic entry, accessed 2026. Includes official designations as a National 4A scenic area (2019), municipal cultural heritage site (2009), Second Batch of 20th-Century Chinese Architectural Heritage (2017), and Chinese Industrial Heritage Protection List (2018). • "Beneath China's Chongqing Lies the World's Largest Underground Nuclear Plant." Our China Story, 2025-12-18. • "The Nuclear Option: Visit the Old Chinese Nuclear Base Under Chongqing." The World of Chinese, 2022-01. • "Why Did Baitao Town Silently Vanish from the Map? 60,000 Soldiers Lived Anonymously for Years, Just to Forge a Mighty National Backbone Deep in the Mountains." Zhong Li Shuo (钟离说), Baijiahao, 2026-05-01. • "Project 816: 60,000 People Kept One Secret for 36 Years." Wang Yatong, Wang Xiang, Zhao Xiaohan, China National Defense News (via Huaxia), 2024-07-31. • "816 Nuclear Military Plant" — Wikipedia; Young Pioneer Tours: "Chongqing 816 Nuclear Town Ultimate Guide 2026." This channel respects creators and values accuracy, authenticity, and transparency. If any information in this video is inaccurate, or if any images, footage, or other content infringe upon your rights, please contact me so we can discuss corrections or removal. --------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTERS 00:00 INTRO 01:22 Chapter 1 – A Country Preparing to Disappear 04:00 Chapter 2 – The Town That Vanished 07:32 Chapter 3 – The Heart That Never Started