One of China’s renowned ancient towns was under water yesterday as heavy rain hit the center of the country, with tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area.
The old town district of Fenghuang nestles on the banks of a winding river in a picturesque, mountainous part of Hunan Province, boasting stunning Qing and Ming dynasty architecture hundreds of years old.
It is able to attract 30,000 visitors a day and has applied for world heritage status recognition from UNESCO, but pictures showed it inundated, with the central span of a bridge poking up through the waters.
Photo: AFP
Reports said electricity had been cut off and more than 120,000 tourists and locals had been evacuated from Fenghuang and the surrounding county.
According to Xinhua news agency, the Tuojiang River in the town swelled to 1.1m above its previous highest level, while several bridges had been damaged or destroyed.
More than 1,200 rescuers were working yesterday to evacuate residents and tourists, according to Xinhua, and about 4,000 shops had been affected, with water flooding hotels, bars and restaurants.
More than 40 trains were canceled, it added, citing the Guangzhou Railway Corp.
“Torrential downpours have led to Fenghuang old town becoming a water town,” said a posting on a discussion page on the topic set up on microblogging site Sina Weibo.
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