The Lost Pyramids of China
by Dave Combattelli
China is certainly at the forefront of most media outlets
these days. Going to Beijing is in fact as good as throwing yourself into the
Olympics Games press room. Yet we all know China has a lot more to
offer. The Great Wall, The Terracotta Army, The Forbidden City and the
Beautiful Tiger Leaping Gorge. It's a land full of history and incredible
culture.
About eight years ago I began to research a journey that
would lead me to some of the lesser known places on earth. I was looking
for something that people didn't know about. Inspired by the amazing white
pyramids in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, a little digging around brought me to
some interesting articles on the rumored Pyramids in China.
The first actual recorded references came from a post WW2
United States Air Force survey over the Qinling mountains, just outside Xi'an.
A great white pyramid was identified, and then made classified information. In
the mid 1990's a German tour operator, Hartwig Hausdorf, took photographs of
this and many more Pyramid like objects he found in the area. He
published, Die Weisse Pyramide, which was later translated into English
under the revised title, The Chinese Roswell (1998).
In actual fact that great white Pyramid is the Maoling
Mausoleum. Though there is still much speculation on this from various amateur
sources. What's more interesting is that there are a lot more than just one
pyramid in China. There are hundreds.
To most a pyramid is Giza in Egypt. A sand colored
pyramidal shaped object made out of stone blocks. It was used to bury
emperors and rulers of this ancient land. They are in fact tombs. As
are the pyramids in Mexico, Central America and China. All have slight
variations, different building materials, but all are pyramidal in structure and
were used as burial sites for great leaders.
In 2008 I finally got to visit several of these
pyramids. It must be said; they are not so lost nor hidden. In fact
if one could speak Chinese it would make it even easier to find them.
Luckily, I had a friend that does. Back in the days of the cold war and
China's determination to keep itself to itself, interest in these pyramids was
thwarted. Farmers were told to use the soil and materials in these mounds
for their own purposes. Others were told to plant vegetation and crops over
these strange protruding hills that dotted the land around their farms.
Other pyramids were demolished outright while some had trees planted on top of them to try and
cover up their shapes. Then China opened up.
Tourism can destroy many things. Parkland, silence,
history and our hope for a quite day out. But in this case tourism is
helping to recover a lost history. The Chinese now offer their own tours to
the 'mausoleums.' It's a tour that does not even take in the pyramids
themselves, just the surrounding museums and temples. Yet standing there
on top of a lookout point before a green landscape and seeing three huge
pyramidal objects leaves you with a sense of unexplored wonder. Rumor has
it that there is a movement within the Chinese tourist office that a 'post
2008 Games China' will focus on the 'new discovery' of ancient pyramids in
a bid to continue attracting tourists.
I fear that some actual scientific work will not get
accomplished before that time. I fear that in a rush to make more money,
grants will be handed out to convert these mysterious objects into tourist
destinations and any evidence of their true historical meaning and past will be
erased.
In the meantime, if you happen to be in China and want to see
something very few people know about, head to Xi'an. Don't just head to the
impressive Maoling Mausoleum. Head out into the countryside and look
for strange pyramid like shapes. You will find them. They've been
there for thousands of years, right under our noses.
© 2008 Dave Combattelli
Point2Point
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