Closed Chinese City – Award-Winning Pictures

There is a Chinese city with the most unusual name of 404, like the error code, although it has also been dubbed “the nuclear town.” To add to the strangeness, 404 cannot be found on a geographic map.

The city of 404 is an isolated place in the Gobi Desert in western China. The nearest town is two hours away. The abandoned city is generally closed to strangers and patrolled by guards, but Li Yang managed to get permission to enter since he grew up there. He called his project 404 Not Found.

The mysterious Chinese city, called 404, has been abandoned for years, with derelict buildings falling into ruin, public squares left eerily desolate and vegetation overgrown.

Out of the 657 cities in China, there is one that cannot be found on any maps. People don't read about it on newspapers or see it on TV. Most Chinese people don't even know of its existence.

Welcome to 404, a remote city in the far-flung Gobi Desert which was built as a national secret in 1950s so that Communist China could make its first nuclear bomb during the height of the Cold War.

As if it's to add to its mystery, the city's code name - also the name of the nuclear plant it served - happens to be the responsive code one gets nowadays when a webpage cannot be found.

'You wouldn't find my hometown on any Chinese map,' said Li Yang, a 32-year-old photographer who now lives in the glamorous capital city of Beijing, 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles) from the isolated 'nuclear city'.

There were no buses, taxis or even traffic lights in 404 city because 'you could walk from one end to the other in 15 minutes', recalled Mr Li.

However, the small community was equipped with all the functions one can think of in a large city, from a dance club to a library, from a public bathhouse to a vinegar factory.

The idea behind building this city appeared in the 1950s in response to China receiving a series of nuclear attack threats from the United States. The Government of the Republic of China decided to build a nuclear technology base so that it could carry on its own bomb research projects.

In 1958, construction was completed. Overall, the city only covered an area of four square kilometers (one and a half square miles) with the residential area covering only one square kilometer (a third of a square mile).

This was because 404 was designated a “closed city,” meaning there were residential and travel restrictions in place. Authorization was required for those wanting to stay overnight, so everything had to be as self-governing as possible.

Within the city boundaries were a nuclear power station, residential complexes, a police station, a court, a school, two kindergartens, and all the necessary government departments.

There was and still is a towering statue of Chairman Mao, the founding Communist leader of the People's Republic of China, and 'that was the city's central square where you could show up after dinner to find all your playmates'.

All the children were sent to the two kindergartens whose interiors were identical and were designed by the Russians. Afterwards, they would study in one of the two primary schools - No. 1 and No. 4 Primary School - before entering the same middle school and the same high school.

The city, in the far west of China, even had pastry chefs specialised in making a popular snack from Shanghai, an eastern coastal metropolis some 2,800 kilometres (1,739 miles) away.

After residential buildings and vital institutions had been constructed, only the best doctors, chefs, teachers, and other essential workers were moved there so that they could work on developing the new city.

In the 1990s, 404 became the largest nuclear base in the country. At its peak, the population of the city was between 50,000-100,000 people, depending on your source of information.

The climatic conditions of the desert were so severe that all the trees in the city were grown by artificial cultivation. Camel grass was the only natural plant to grow. However, this harsh environment didn’t stop people from enjoying life in the city. 404 had a zoo, several playgrounds, a dance club, a library, and an ice rink.

'People were sent from around China to live and work in the purposely built city to accommodate three generations. They brought their customs and languages to the melting pot.'

He added: 'At the time, China wanted to build a nuclear bomb at all costs.'

Mr Li said when he was growing up, there were about 20,000 people in the city.

On October 16, 1964, the country successfully exploded its first atomic bomb at the Lop Nor nuclear test site, and Mr Li said the bomb was built by the scientists and workers living in 404 city.

'In the exhibition hall of the China National Nuclear Corporation today, there is a picture near the entrance showing a young woman celebrating the success of the explosion. That woman was my relative, and she was so young at the time,' said Mr Li.

The professional photographer lived in 404 city for 19 years until he went to university in 2003.

Two years later, the city was largely abandoned. All the residents in the city were relocated by the authority to live in another city, also in the Gobi Desert.

'It was a strange feeling,' said Mr Li. 'I lost my hometown.'

Like many people, Mr Li feels nostalgic about the good old days, even if his hometown technically never existed in the modern Chinese history.

He went back to 404 city for four times during 2013 and 2016 to document its deserted streets, buildings and parks.

'As soon as I stand on the ground of 404 city, my memories would rush back. I could hear, see and smell things in this empty city,' he said.

One of Mr Li's favourite pictures is of two lonely trees standing on the barren Gobi sand.

'I planted them when I was four near the backyard of my house,' he said.

Now one of the trees is live, and one of them dead - just like the two 404 cities living in Mr Li's mind.

Ref: Dailymail, Mirror