China opens first nuclear weapons production base to tourists

BEIJING (AFP) Jul 30, 2003
China has turned its first nuclear weapons research and production base where it developed atom and hydrogen bombs into a museum and opened it to the public, state media said Wednesday.

The facility, located in the predominantly Tibetan Xihai town in northwest Qinghai province, was built in 1958 and was then known as the No. 221 Plant, the Xinhua news agency said.

In more than 30 years, scientists developed various kinds of nuclear weapons including the country's first atom and hydrogen bombs, Xinhua said.

In 1987, the government decided to close the plant to support its demands then for a complete ban on and the destruction of all nuclear weapons in the world.

After years of cleaning and rehabilitation, the site is now environmentally safe, Xinhua said.

In 1995, it was handed over to the local government in Xihai town, known as Nuclear City.

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