submerged city

The brick was carved with words like "Mingguo Ershisan Nian" (the 23rd year of the Republic of China, or 1934) and "Xianzhang Zhangbaochen," (Zhangbaochen is the county magistrate).

Qiu quickly reported his discovery to the local government. As more research was conducted, it was discovered that the entire town, submerged for decades, was intact. Even the wooden beams and stairs were preserved.

In 2005, the local tourism department discovered three additional ancient towns under the water. Along with Shi Cheng and He Cheng, the complete ancient building complex was made public.

On January 7, 2011, the ancient towns were assessed as provincial level relics. In the following month, Chinese National Geography magazine printed photos of the town. Local governments were excited, but the problem of how to preserve the ancient cities remained. Xu Xiangzhi, vice-director of a local tourism administration said that while many ideas were proposed, few were realistic.

Some suggested opening the area up for tourists. But for inexperienced divers, it's hard to bear water pressure over eight meters. The ancient towns are much deeper (20-30 meters below water).

"Besides, the bottom of the lake is full of mud. Landing on the bottom will stir the water, reducing visibility," said Xu.

Some suggested building a protective wall and pumping water out of the city. However, this method is costly, and the walls are unable to sustain pressure.

In the end, a submarine was built for underwater visits. The 23.6 meters high, 3.8 meters tall submarine, came at a cost of 40 million yuan ($6.36 million). The submarine contains 48 seats and a diving capability of 50 meters.

But since it was finished in 2004, the submarine was never used. Local officials said laws did not allow submarines to dive into inland waters. Further, no rules regulate civil submarines. Even if officially approved, the submarine might cause strong water flows under the water, which may damage the buildings.