Explore former nuclear facility on a private tour from Chongqing

The top-secret 816 nuclear plant is built into the world's largest artificial cave buried in the Chongqing mountains and opened for tourism in 2010. 816 Nuclear Military Plant dates back to the late 1960's and only opened to the public in 2010. The site lies at the mountainous Baitao town of Fuling district and contains nearly 13 miles of tunnel roads. China had commissioned the project to catch up with nuclear-armed cold war rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, but after 1984 the Central Military Commission called off the project More than 60,000 workers participated in the project. Officially 76 people died in the process but tour guides and former workers insist the number is much higher. The 816 nuclear plant was a top-secret project, and the construction workers were not truly aware of its purpose. Only 85 percent of the construction was completed, while only a third of it is currently open, with other areas still highly restricted to tourists.

Known as "The Mountain City," Chongqing is the commercial, industrial and transportation hub of Southwest China. It is a key inland port located on the Yangtze River in mountainous Sichuan Province. The core city of 6 million people is the industrial and commercial hub for the Municipality of Chongqing, a province-level jurisdiction that extends eastward to the fabled Three Gorges of the Yangtze and encompasses a population of 32 million. In addition to its rapidly developing industries, Chongqing takes pride in its many universities and technical schools, including the renowned Sichuan Fine Arts Academy.