Under the placid waters of Qiandao Lake lay mysteries covered by rising waters.  Lost in the depths are 2 cities, 49 towns and over 1350 villages.

Qiandao Lake (simplified Chinese: 千岛湖; pinyin: Qiāndǎo Hú) literally means ‘Thousand Island Lake’ due to all the mountain tops peeking out of the water, is a human-made, freshwater lake located in Chun’an County, Zhejiang Province, China.  It was formed after the completion of the Xin’an River hydroelectric station in 1959.

Beneath the surface lay a lost history of the Han and Ming dynasties. In the process of flooding the area, hundreds and thousands of towns and villages were covered by water.  The most famous is the ShiCheng or Lion City that was first built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-200).  The city lies well preserved and undisturbed at a depth of 25-40M.  Unfortunately, due to government regulations, diving is no longer allowed.

While most buildings and houses were pulled down as people moved out, there was not enough time to remove everything ahead of the rising water.  There are numerous archways, buildings and houses frozen in time under the calm surface of the lake.

XuJianYuan Village was discovered by Hu JianMing in 2014.  At 30 meters in-depth, this ancient village from the Ming Dynasty originated over 600 years ago. The underwater village has a typical local architectural style and is relatively well preserved. The overdoors, beams, and pillars have all been beautifully carved and the structure of the houses are clear at a glance. 

Divers must be careful not to stir up the silt to impact visibility.  Further, exceptional buoyancy control is required to avoid touching or damaging the fragile wooden carvings.

As you move across the village, you can see remnants of village life – feeding troughs, terraced gardens, and village walls with majestic archways.

But these relics need protection.  Recently, some of the ancient doorway stones, dated to 1545 have been stolen.  On a recent dive I made, these stones were gone.  There had to be a bit of planning to lift two 500KG stones from 30 meters down.

The dive community and Hu JianMing are committed to preserving and protecting the underwater villages for future generations.

Photos courtesy of Leigh Chen – Big Blue International Diving