Engineering has led to many advancements in the field of housing architectures. Right from two rooms flat to big mansions, from row houses to tall skyscrapers we see a variety in them. We are also familiar with many underground constructions like underground tunnels, some parts of forts, caves, roads, parking lots etc. Underground constructions are safe from natural calamities, effects of climatic changes and pollution and many other things. But have you ever thought of an entire city existing underground? Imagine an entire city with residences, shopping malls, markets, schools all underground! Here is an amazing list of such underground cities you might not have heard before.

Matmata

This is a small city in Tunisia. This city is completely underground and inhabitants kept this city a secret until 1967 when torrential rains created a problem for them. Since the entire city is made of mud, rains spoiled the entire structure of the city. The 22 days long rainfall caused so serious damage to the city that the inhabitants realized it’s the time to disclose the city and ask help from the community centre of the region of Gabes to renovate. Now, Matmata has become a famous tourist spot. The movie Star Wars was shot in this city in 1976.

Cappadocia

This is a famous underground city in the world present in Turkey. It is an ancient city built in the 7th century. It was built by Christians to hide from the Roman Empires. The city is built in seven layers and dug in soft rocks. It consists of schools, shops and churches for people. The city has a capacity to accommodate about 20 thousand people at a time. It is 200 feet deep.

Beijing Underground

This is a vast city that lies beneath the streets of Beijing. Built by Mao Zedong, this city is estimated to be made up by 3 lakh workers and has an area of 85 square kilometres. The underground city was made as a military defence in case of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The entire population of Beijing could be housed underground in such a situation. The city is well equipped with malls, hospitals, schools, factories, warehouses, farms and much more.

Coober Pedy

This city is situated in Northern Australia and produces the largest amount of gemstones on Earth. As this place witnesses scorching heat of sun throughout the day, they have made dugouts that maintain a constant cooling temperature during summers and prevents the inhabitants from the searing heat. The city is well equipped with many houses, pubs, casinos and also many museums. About 1700 people reside here.

Burlington Nuclear Bunker

This is an underground city in England and as the name says, it was made to prevent people from nuclear and poisonous gases. This city has the capacity to accommodate 4000 occupants at a time. It was built in 1950 and is also termed as Secret English Society. This city is equipped with pubs, cafeterias, water treatment facility, second largest phone exchange in Burlington, railways and roads up to 95 kilometre. The railway lines were constructed for the Royals to escape in dangerous situations. The temperature is always maintained at 20 degree Celsius. The city was functional until 1991.