
On This Day… The Blast That Shook Beijing
Written by: George Chittenden : 24 May 2019
It was on this day, 30th May back in 1626 when an explosion in Beijing destroyed half of the city and killed twenty-thousand people. It’s believed that the source of the blast was the Wanggongchang Armory, and that it was an industrial accident, however several other theories exist including that the blast was a meteorite crash or a natural gas explosion. Regardless of the cause of the explosion, nobody doubts the devastation it caused.
The blast was so powerful it destroyed everything within two square kilometres of the source and launched debris thirty kilometres away. According to reports victims were stripped of their clothing by the force of the explosion. In other areas of the country people believed that an earthquake had struck the capital. Interestingly, reports exist of a mushroom cloud rising into the sky following the explosion which as you can imagine have fuelled conspiracy theorists’ imaginations. Experts have calculated that the blast was the equivalent of nearly 20,000 tons of TNT, an explosion roughly the same in power as the atomic bomb which destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. So folks, what are your thoughts? Was it a simple industrial accident or something more?
Search
By Era
To 5000 BCE 5000 - 2000 BCE 2000 BCE - 0 0 - 400 CE 400 - 800 CE 800 - 1100 CE 1100 - 1500 CE 1500 - 1700 CE 18th Century 19th Century 1900's 1910's 1920's 1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's 2010'sBy Topic
Royal British Roman North American Egyptian Nautical European Social WW1 Military Viking Asian African Australian South American Political Celebrity WW2 ReligionWe promote history by...
offering free articles and videos, providing free history experiences for children in schools and on weekends. Next year we will be visiting hospitals and providing unforgettable experiences to children who really need it and give them a chance to forget their condition, their treatment and their reality.
Please join others who support our free projects by giving a small donation. We can only continue our great work with your help.