Beijing Underground City

Lonely Planet review

By 1969, as the USA landed men on the moon, Mao had decided the future for Beijing's people lay underground. Alarmist predictions of nuclear war with Russia dispatched an army of Chinese beneath the streets to burrow a huge warren of bombproof tunnels which has now been put to use as warehouses, hotels and restaurants.

There are roughly 90 entrances to the complex, all of which are hidden in shops along Qianmen's main streets. A fluorescent wall map reveals the routing of the entire tunnel system. You can visit a section of the tunnels and, although there's not much to see, you'll pass chambers labelled their original function (cinema, hospital, arsenal etc) as well as flood-proof gates. You can also make out signposts to major landmarks accessed by the tunnels (Tiananmen Sq, the Forbidden City), but these routes are inaccessible.