The Floating City of Penglai
Off China's coast, people have watched towers, mountains and whole cities appear above the sea and then dissolve.
What was reported
Chinese legend placed the island of Penglai, home of the immortals, somewhere in the eastern sea. Emperors, including the first emperor of China, sent expeditions to find it. On the coast at Penglai in Shandong, people have long reported seeing islands, palaces, pagodas and city streets floating above the water, clear for a while, then fading away.
Sightings are still reported, and in 2005 a long 'city' appeared over the sea for hours and was filmed by crowds of tourists.
Explanations offered
They're mirages, of the kind called Fata Morgana. When warm air lies over colder sea water, light from distant islands, ships or buildings bends as it passes through, so the real objects appear stretched upwards into towers and floating walls. In Chinese, a mirage is still called a 'sea market'.
- When
- Recorded for over 2,000 years
- Where
- Penglai, Shandong, China
- Witnesses
- Generations of people on the Shandong coast
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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