404 – city not on the map located in Gansu province, where China developed its Cold War nuclear bomb program.
In the present era of satellite development, almost every building and street corner is clearly shown through satellite maps. However, in China, a mysterious city cannot be found on any kind of map.
More strangely, this city is also named after the coded number like the ghost city. City 404 is located near De Oa Pho station, Ngoc Mon city, Gansu province. To get here, you need to go to De Oa Pho station, then go to the police station to apply for a permit. 404 formed during the height of the Cold War.
In 1958, when both the US and the Soviet Union possessed nuclear weapons, China decided to devote all its efforts to nuclear bomb research. The best were gathered to 97.21 degrees east longitude and 40.10 degrees north latitude, turning the desert into a 404 city.
This city is also named after the coded number like the ghost city.
Scientists working here laid the foundations for China’s nuclear and space programs. Dang Gia Tien , who is considered the father of Chinese nuclear physics, is one of them.
Due to military secrecy, 404 does not appear on any map. Underneath the city are bomb shelters. At the city’s nuclear waste landfill, workers work in environments with high radiation exposure. Every half hour, they had to leave. At the end of working hours, they have to bury their protective clothing. If not careful, they risk radiation exposure, hair loss, even life-threatening.
At the mountain near the city there is a large cemetery, burying those who used to work here. These are people who have devoted their lives to China’s nuclear science. Many people cannot return to their homeland. More than 60 years have passed, the city has been abandoned, many people have left, but some people are forever left on land that is not on the map.