A tourist visiting Beijing is constantly reminded of the fact that he or she is treading in the footsteps of Chairman Mao. If you want to consolidate that feeling with political propaganda, the place to go is Beijing Underground City, a subterranean construction which today more resembles a museum of sorts than an actual city.

This underground network of tunnels is also sometimes referred to as the "Beijing Underground Great Wall,” given that both the complex and the authentic Great Wall of China were initially built for defensive purposes.

The museum of the underground city was officially opened in 2000, but has remained largely unknown amongst the native population. The ticket seller told me that the museum is visited by several hundred tourists a day, the majority of whom are foreigners.

Visitors to the museum are always guided by a member of staff who leads them through the snaking tunnels. Me and my interpreter Sarah were accompanied by Lance, who had worked as a museum guide for about a month. Lance led us to the dimly lit tunnels eight meters below street level and entertained us with memorized trivia about the museum. If we happened to ask him something off the top of our heads, we were met with dead silence. Apparently our guide could not, or did not want to, answer any questions he hadn't been prepared for -- the likes of how big the underground city actually is.

Underground bomb shelter

Chairman Mao observes visitors to the museum. (Image: China.org)No official information on the size of the underground city is available, but it is evident that the tunnels crisscross over an area of at least 30 kilometers, linking the strategic area of Xidan with Xuanwumen, and Qianmen with Chongwenmen. Only a small portion of this network is open to the public. The complex was built between 1965 and 1975, when Sino-Russian relations were under serious strain and Mao considered it best to prepare for a possible nuclear war. Had it been needed in an emergency, the underground citadel would have only accommodated 300,000 people, about 40 percent of the population of Beijing at the time.

Lance, who was dressed in military attire, led us swiftly along the ”sightseeing route.” The tour of the stuffy concrete tunnels took about 15 – 20 minutes. Visitors were led along a poorly lit path marked with red carpets, which were soaked with water dripping from the ceiling. The walls were decorated with army camouflage netting, gas masks, tote bags and other authentic looking paraphernalia from the 60s. Here and there rusty ventilation pipes ran along the tunnel walls, and as Chinese tradition would have it, they were decorated with Christmas garlands! Lance assured us of the ingeniousness of the ventilation system and pointed at a small hole in the ceiling. When I peered through the hole, I could make out a small patch of blue sky. Maybe not the best solution in case of nuclear fallout...

Just follow the red carpets! (Image: China.org)Unfortunately, it is forbidden to take pictures in the museum because it is still a military installation. This is a shame, because the walls are covered with delicious propaganda posters, each one more interesting than the next. Most of the posters have faded over time and are covered with a thin film of mold... The artwork is mainly army-themed with pictures of missiles and tanks, not forgetting portraits of Chairman Mao and Karl Marx. A sign with instructions for correctly composting biowaste also caught my eye.

And then for some shopping

Several rooms had been reconstructed along the tourist path, so that visitors could get an idea of how everything was designed to function in this underground safe house. Among the spaces were a military hospital, an ammunition storage, a lounge for the more elderly population and a reading hall for the young.

Quite unexpectedly our tour finished in a silk shop. One could not help pondering the possibility that the guides have been promised a small provision for every purchase made by visitors to the shop. At least Lance was very keen to help us pick out silk scarves and ties, mumbling at the same time, that this space had initially been designed to serve as a conference room.

Our tour ended in a silk shop. (Image: China.org)It is hard to say whether I can recommend a visit to the underground city to anyone... Although the 20 yuan, or two-euro, admission does not take anyone to the poorhouse, the place does not actually offer very much to see. Except if you're into wandering through cold and damp corridors. On the positive side, it is a good place to escape the sweltering heat outside.

Well, in the end finding the underground city proved to be a greater adventure than the place itself! The so-called tourist entrance is located in the Beixiangfang hutong district. Taxi drivers in Qianmen were reluctant to drive there, either because they did not know the museum's exact location or because it is difficult to access the place by car. We decided to put our money in a ride in a rickshaw, which I can warmly recommend to all adventure-minded tourists. It cost us slightly more than a conventional cab ride (40 yuan), but the experience was worth it.

Museum open everyday 8.30 - 17.00
Address: Beijing Underground City, 62 West Damochang Jie, Qianmen