These pictures may look like maps in a dystopian video game, but it’s actually a real place that existed. Nobody has set foot on its land (legally) since 1980.
The Sanzhi “UFO houses” were built in Tawain by a Chinese company called the Hung Kuo Group, and though the buildings look like they’re part of an awesome space village, the project was abandoned two years into construction. The reasons for its abandonment have inspired local legends. Some hypothesize that it was merely an economic problem, but others think there might have been something paranormal at work.
Construction began in New Taipei City, Taiwan, in 1978. These structures were designed to be vacation resorts for U.S. soldiers serving in East Asia.
The resort was basically a live-in water park.
Construction stopped in 1980 before the first guests could check in.
Many cite poor funding as the main reason for the abandonment, but some suspect that paranormal activity drove the builders away.
Although the view from the Sanzhi homes is beautiful, it came at a cost. Rumor has it that the resort was built on top of a graveyard of dead Dutch soldiers. The workers said they were often visited by spirits who were none too pleased to have their slumbers disturbed.
Mysterious accidents began occurring on site, many of which were fatal.
Several of the workers committed suicide without any indication that they were unhappy before they took their own lives.
Urban explorers who break into the site say that the area remains haunted by both soldiers and Hung Kuo workers.
There’s yet another legend which claims that the area was once home to a sacred dragon that should not have been disturbed. So basically the area is now doubly cursed.
Although abandoned, the ghostly resort became an underground tourist attraction for fans of science fiction and apocalyptic worlds (who are also fond of illegally entering private property).
Images of the abandoned resort have been used for amateur and professional films, including an MTV short.
Despite an online petition, the abandoned resort was demolished in 2008.
In 2010, the land was leased to another company that hopes to make yet another resort and water park atop the old. Let’s hope the spirits have quieted since the destruction of Sanzhi.
I’ve always been in love with the cheesy 1980s depiction of what the future should look like, so I would have been first down the water slide if this ever opened. Had this structure been built on a less haunted site, it probably would’ve been a hit.
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