The headquarters of China's first nuclear weapons research and production base in northwest China's Qinghai Province has been declassified and opened for tourism.

Qinghai Atom City, code-named the No. 221 Plant of the China Nuclear Industry Corporation, was located 3,200 meters above sea level and 101 kilometers from the provincial capital, Xining.

The command center of the base is 9.3 meters below the ground and built from reinforced concrete. It is composed of eight segments: a carrier wave room, a wiring room, an aeration room, a command room, an electricity generation room, a manual exchange room and a telegraph transmission room.

China's first atomic and hydrogen bombs were built at the base, which was constructed in 1958. It is located on the grasslands in the north of Qinghai and covers more than 1,100 square km.

The government closed the base in 1987 to support its demands for a complete ban aiming to destroy world's nuclear weapons. The base was handed over to the local government in 1993.

In 1995, China made an official international announcement that the base had been decommissioned. It became a National Patriotism Education Demonstration Base in 2005.

A museum has been built to display the telegraphs, telephones, machines, clothes, bowls and food coupons that belonged to the people who worked at the base. The base is now called the Xihai Township.

Last year, the government allocated 93 million yuan (US$11.6 million) to better preserve the base. The dilapidated site is currently being renovated.

(CRI May 13, 2007)