Scuba diver explored ancient underwater city that remains a huge mystery to this day

The city has been submerged for over 60 years, yet it has been almost perfectly preserved We may never know how old this city is, but a scuba diver has taken it upon himself to explore the ancient ruins. He posted his findings on YouTube, with viewers intrigued with what he filmed in the Qiandao Lake in China. Writing in the description, the explorer said that he did 'several dives' to explore in the underwater ruins of Lion City, also known as Shi Cheng. According to the user, they were located 85-130 feet below its surface, and the ruins are known to have been submerged since 1959. This was due to the flooding of the valley at the foot of the Wu Shi (Five Lion) mountain, caused by the Xin'an River Hydropower Station. And viewers were stunned by the details that were kept in tact despite the submergence of the building, as the intricacies of the architecture were kept.

The footage was captured by CWDiving in 2014, and posted to their official YouTube channel, with ancient inscriptions and carvings still visible. It's a miracle that they haven't fallen victim to erosion, though the decades since the flooding may not have allowed as much time. Known as 'the Atlantis of the East', there are estimates on how long Shicheng, also known as the Lion City, has been standing, going between 600 years and almost two millennia, but what we do know is that it's really old and it's underwater. The Qiandao lake, after all, was a product of the flooding of the ancient city to give the area a hydroelectric power plant. It is quite remarkable though, that after 60 years submerged in the water, the city has almost perfectly been preserved. But why is this?

The ancient city has been preserved underwater (YouTube/@‌CWDiving)

Essentially, the water used to make the artificial lake contained no corrosive elements or marine biology, so the old city has been kept pretty clear of the kinds of decay you'd expect with time and being submerged in a lake. Shicheng is home to stellar architecture from eras past but we don't know everything about the place quite yet. With it being underwater, the ancient city can only be visited by experienced divers as, according to Indy100, it was opened up to tourists in 2017 after being 'rediscovered' in 2001. You'd need to have experience in deep water, night diving and exploratory diving to be allowed down there, and little by little teams of divers are mapping out the ancient city which has sat at the bottom of a lake for decades. At present, they've found a total of 265 archways in the submerged city, decorated with carvings of dragons, phoenixes and lions.

The ancient city's origins are currently unknown (YouTube/@‌CWDiving) Eventually we'll have the complete picture of what Shicheng looked like before it was flooded, but for now there are parts of the ancient city which remain a mystery to modern memories. The BBC also reports that the city walls date back to the final days of China's Ming dynasty while there is also architecture from their successors the Qing, the final dynasty of emperors in China. Social media users couldn't believe what the diver stumbled upon, with one writing: "It is absolutely amazing how we can see what things looked like way back then, 1400 years ago, just to see their amazing architecture, and how they see and value the things we forgot." Another added: "The dimensions of the carved stone are truly stunning, wow." A third pointed out: "So fantastic.... a shame they flooded it".