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Satellite image of “science city”, Guangzhou, February 2026
Satellite images from the last decade show that where there were once villages, there are now high-security industrial facilities — which are generating unrest among populations.
In recent years, China has evacuated entire villages for no apparent reason, citing “state secrets”
New satellite images, recently analyzed by , now reveal a disturbing background: the silent expansion of its nuclear infrastructurewith advanced facilities built where there used to be housing.
For years, people living in rural areas of Sichuan province have seen their homes destroyed. expropriated without clear explanations. When some residents asked for answers, the authorities responded with a laconic formula: it was a classified subject.
What then seemed like an isolated administrative decision has now gained a much larger dimensionsays .
Investigations based on satellite images show that these lands were completely transformed. Where villages once stood, they stand today industrial complexes and high security structures linked to the development of nuclear armament.
This change is not punctual: it is part of a systematic process, which has intensified since 2021and which had already been reported in December by and in February by .
Detailed analysis of these images allowed us to identify a facility particularly significant: a huge dome built in less than five years junto ao rio Tongjiang.
Its size, equivalent to around 13 tennis courts, and its highly reinforced design point to a use related to sensitive radioactive materials.
International security experts cited in the CNN investigation indicate that the structure integrates elements such as advanced ventilation systems, armored doors and radiation monitorswhich suggests that it may have been designed to contain substances such as uranium or plutoniumessential in the production of nuclear weapons.
Additionally, this installation does not work in isolation. A network of renovated roads connects the complex to other nearby nuclear centers, forming a coherent logistics network.
Another of these production facilities is the Site 931which expanded into the village of Baitu, causing the eviction of its inhabitants. The nearby village of Dashan was also demolished to make way for the base’s development.
A road-rail transfer point linking the network to the west of the country has also been drastically renovated since 2021 — another telltale sign of a comprehensive revitalization of the cities.Zitong facilities.
This system reinforces the idea that China is not only expanding its capacity, but also reorganize your infrastructure to make it more efficient and resistant.
The phenomenon is not limited to a single location. Other villagessuch as Baitu or Dashan, were demolished to expand similar installations.
At the same time, key areas such as the “science city”, Guangzhouconsidered the scientific core of the Chinese nuclear programunderwent a massive transformation with the construction of new buildings, following the demolition of hundreds of previous structures.
Analysts agree that this evolution goes far beyond the number of nuclear warheads. According to experts, the real change is in technological modernization and production capacitywhich introduces uncertainty regarding the real size of the Chinese arsenal. In this context, measuring power only in numbers becomes less and less relevant.
A lack of transparency and the scale of the works fuel international concern. As some experts warn, the biggest risk is not only in what China is building, but also in the way it is interpreted by other countries.
This perception may trigger strategic decisions that, based on estimates and fears, raise global tension for a new phase of nuclear competition.