Original subtitles

NICK POPE: Thousands of people

in the Chinese city of Foshan

saw what they could only describe as a floating city.

WILLIAM HENRY: Thousands of Chinese people

flocked to social media

with photos of UFOs flying over China.

NICK REDFERN: We're getting more and more

of these anomalous phenomena

in the skies, which the Chinese government

are trying to dismiss.

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS: One has to wonder whether or not

history is repeating itself,

because in China, you have stories of flying dragons.

DAVID CHILDRESS: Extraterrestrials may have

been living amongst the Chinese for thousands of years.

And finally the veil is being lifted

on the true history of China.

NARRATOR: Since the dawn of civilization,

mankind has credited its origins to gods

and other visitors from the stars.

What if it were true?

Did extraterrestrial beings

really help to shape our history?

And if so,

could there be a connection between aliens

and China's Hidden Empire?

January 26, 2011.

Sun Shili-- a former Chinese Foreign Ministry official,

who worked directly with Mao Tse-tung--

comes forward with a shocking revelation

that is reported in The Canadian newspaper.

The Chinese government is aware

of extraterrestrials visiting Earth.

(speaking Chinese)

(translated): The government held an objective

and practical attitude, and allowed us to do

abundant research, reports and discussions on the topic.

They pay great attention to this topic,

especially the military,

the air force and civil aviation departments,

which encounter UFO cases frequently.

POPE: Sun Shili said that not only were the Chinese government

aware that extraterrestrials were visiting the Earth,

but also that some aliens were actually living among us

disguised in human form.

His revelations are an absolute bombshell.

I mean, clearly this shines a new light on

what may have been going on in relation to this subject

in one of the most

secret societies on the face of this planet.

NARRATOR: Shili claimed to have discovered sensitive information

about government knowledge of extraterrestrials

while serving Chairman Mao,

and he also had his own close encounter.

(Shili speaking Chinese)

(translated): In 1972, I was in the central government.

I was working in the foreign affairs department.

We were on evening duty when we saw

a shiny UFO in the sky, like a small moon.

It was smaller than the moon but was very bright.

It moved up and down.

It disappeared after about ten minutes or so.

NARRATOR: Initially, Shili regarded the spectacle

as a type of Cold War intelligence monitoring device.

But years later, after working within elevated levels

of the Chinese government,

he was certain he had witnessed an alien spacecraft.

(indistinct chatter)

POPE: I met Dr. Sun Shili

in 2013 in Washington D.C.

We were both speakers at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure.

I had a chance to meet with, uh, Sun Shili

and, um, discuss some of this with him firsthand.

He's entirely sincere about this.

NARRATOR: Could Sun Shili--

a man who worked closely

with one of the most powerful world leaders in history--

really have inside knowledge

about extraterrestrials visiting Earth?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

and suggest that China--

a historically isolationist country--

may have secretly been in contact

with extraterrestrials for decades

and possibly longer.

JONATHAN YOUNG: China has always been insular.

There's always been a sense that the rest of the world

was unimportant, that China was for China

and for the Chinese, and they were very careful

about any secrets that came out.

POPE: China is a notoriously closed

and secretive society.

Is this in relation to UFOs because they know something?

Could it be that they found something?

PAUL STONEHILL: The Chinese government does not

feel obligated to explain their views on UFOs

or their research.

I am sure they are concerned that, um,

those who study UFOs sometimes

see military tests in the skies of China.

They are a self-immersed civilization

and they don't feel perhaps

that they need to share all their historical knowledge

with the others.

NARRATOR: China is the world's most populous country,

with a unique blend of ancient and modern civilization.

Westerners have long held a fascination

with this distant land, in part

because it seems to hold so many secrets.

From the construction of the 13,000-mile-long

Great Wall of China,

erected thousands of years ago,

to the so-called digital "Great Firewall"

restricting the Internet today--

China has taken extraordinary measures

that have prevented both people and information

from entering or leaving its domain.

But why?

According to ancient astronaut theorists,

the answer may be found

by looking back 5,000 years to China's beginnings

and the reign of their very first ruler--

the Yellow Emperor.

DOMINIC STEAVU: The Yellow Emperor is understood to be

a human figure, but

originally in his earlier incarnation

he was actually a divine celestial figure.

He was a god associated with thunder and lightning,

more specifically.

And he was thought to reside in the sky.

The reign of the Yellow Emperor, which purportedly

lasted 100 years, was thought to be a high point

of Chinese culture and of civilization.

So he's associated with a number of technological developments

spanning from the calendar,

advances in mathematics,

astronomy, agricultural techniques, writing as well.

NARRATOR: According to ancient accounts,

the Yellow Emperor possessed knowledge

of advanced technology,

and invented many mechanical devices,

including a cauldron that was oriented

towards the Syuan Yuan star,

the star from which he is said to have descended.

It was written that the cauldron could make a dragon appear

from the sky.

STEAVU: When the time was right, he crafted the cauldron,

and in it he threw in some alchemical ingredients,

uh, elixir ingredients.

(explosion)

And immediately the heavens opened and a dragon emerged.

TSOUKALOS: So a flying dragon sometimes described

with metallic skin,

one has to wonder do we have descriptions

of nuts and bolts machines?

Could these be nothing else but descriptions

of misunderstood technology?

(Shili speaking Chinese)

SHILI (translated): Based on our research,

the Yellow Emperor arrived

in the wonderful land of China through an aircraft.

(speaking Chinese)

(translated): We Chinese people consider ourselves

the descendants of the dragon.

In UFO research, a dragon is the symbol of aircraft,

that is, the symbol of a UFO.

NARRATOR: Is it possible the Yellow Emperor

was an extraterrestrial that was responsible

for starting Chinese civilization

over 5,000 years ago?

And if so, might subsequent emperors,

who all claimed to be descendants of Huangdi,

have been at least part alien as well?

In China's ancient history,

it was often forbidden to look upon the emperor.

And from 1420 to 1912,

emperors were actually walled off

from the public within a massive citadel in Beijing

known as the Forbidden City.

The design of the Forbidden City was meticulously planned

to shield the emperor from the outside world,

as well as symbolize Chinese philosophy and religion.

The Forbidden City was considered to be

an earthly counterpart to an extraterrestrial city.

A monk received the plan for the city in a vision,

and it was built of stones, some of them weighing over 300 tons.

The full name of the Forbidden City is actually

"the Purple Forbidden City,"

and this refers to a constellation,

which is known as the "purple enclosure," in the skies.

This constellation is said to house the celestial emperor

and his immediate entourage.

So, the Forbidden City in Beijing is considered to be

a earthly or terrestrial counterpart

of this celestial palace up in the stars.

CHILDRESS: So you have to wonder,

might these Chinese emperors have been aliens

living both among people of the Earth and in the sky?

NARRATOR: Was the practice of hiding Chinese emperors

implemented to conceal flesh and blood extraterrestrials?

And, if so, might there still be aliens living among--

and in fact ruling-- the Chinese people,

just as former Chinese official Sun Shili

claims there are today?

Ancient astronaut theorists

propose further evidence

lies buried in an isolated desert

in the form of mysterious mummies.

NARRATOR: Heilongjiang Province, China.

June 1994.

Red Flag logging camp.

Tree farmer Meng Zhaoguo spots what he believes to be

a helicopter crashing into the nearby Dragon Mountains.

He sets out to investigate,

and when he reaches the lip of the valley,

he is struck on the head and knocked unconscious.

He wakes up several days later in his bedroom at home,

doesn't know how he got there.

But he also that day has a visitation

by what he describes as a ten-foot-tall extraterrestrial

female with six fingers.

They're floating in the air above his bed.

Suddenly she vanishes.

She walks through the wall in his room

and he floats back into his bed.

NARRATOR: While this account is certainly fantastical,

Beijing-based psychologists and police technicians

subjected Zhaoguo to a rigorous examination,

including hypnosis and a lie detector test and

concluded his story to be truthful.

Zhaoguo is one of literally thousands

who have come forward in China in recent years to say

that they have had extraterrestrial encounters.

But his abduction by this otherworldly giant

is particularly significant

because of an extraordinary archaeological discovery

in China that dates back nearly 4,000 years.

The Taklamakan Desert,

known as "the Sea of Death."

It is a vast, unforgiving land

shrouded in myths and lost to time.

CHRISTOPH BAUMER: The Taklamakan Desert

is located in the northwest of China...

NARRATOR: While the Taklamakan Desert

is one of the least habitable places on Earth, astoundingly,

over the last three decades, Chinese archaeologists

working in the Tarim Basin region have excavated

hundreds of tombs that date back

to as early as 1800 BC.

NARRATOR: The well-preserved

nature of the mummified bodies

allowed archaeologists

to conduct modern DNA analyses

that determined the ancient travelers were not Chinese.

WILCOCK: Now, these mummies were very curious

in that some of them have

what the biologists call Europoid features.

This means they have angular faces.

They have recessed eyes.

They have white skin.

They have elongated bodies,

and they have curly hair

that can be red, blonde, or dark brown.

When they've actually tested

the mitochondrial DNA of these mummies,

they find Haplogroups M and K, which are actually

genetic DNA markers suggesting

Western European genetic lineage.

However, there is a problem.

There are anomalies in the DNA.

There are things that do not add up...

...to any known surviving relics

of genetic information

that we have from anywhere else.

This suggests that these people

may in fact be extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: Could the mysterious mummies

discovered at the Tarim Basin

really be of alien origin?

And might it also be possible that the giant being

Meng Zhaoguo encountered in his home in4

is a member of the same alien race?

Ancient astronaut theorists sayes and suggest

further proof can be found

by examining the evidence discovered

at one of China's most secret pyramids.

NARRATOR: Shaanxi Province, China, 1947.

Colonel Maurice Sheahan, the Far East director

for Trans World Airlines...

...is flying over Central China, when he spots

a white jewel-topped structure

that he estimates to be a 1,000-foot-high pyramid.

HENRY: Colonel Maurice Sheahan looks down

and he sees a giant pyramid

that he says is larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

He reports this to The New York Times

and it causes a sensation.

NARRATOR: On March 27, 1947,

Colonel Sheahan's eyewitness account is circulated worldwide

when The New York Times

reports his story and two days later a photograph

of the mysterious structure is printed.

HENRY: Since then, 37 more pyramids

have been sighted in this area of China,

including the mausoleum of the first Chin emperor,

where we find the incredible terra-cotta warriors.

It suggests that ancient China

was a place where pyramid building was rampant.

VON DANIKEN: It was always known

that there were pyramids in China,

but only in the last, uh, decades,

Chinese archaeologists start

to publish books about these pyramids.

They are all related to the original rulers.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists contend not only that

the formations found in Xian are pyramids, but also that

another structure discovered here

points to a connection to the heavens.

In the summer of 1999, the oldest known altar used

in Chinese state religious practice was unearthed in Xian

by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

It is estimated that 17 Chinese emperors conducted

religious rites at the so-called Altar of Heaven

that dates back to at least 581 AD.

VON DANIKEN: All the Chinese kings communicated

with the extraterrestrials, the gods from heaven,

on the so-called Altar of Heaven.

But the same stone structure, with different ring

about the main altar, we find in Peru,

over the city of Saksaywaman.

And, the rulers of the Inca were, of course again,

the descendants from heaven, like in China.

It's incredibly unique

that you have Muyuq Marka in Peru,

and the Altar of Heaven in China,

coming from two very different cultures,

two different time periods, that you have so many unique

similarities between these two structures,

and they're both used for communication with the gods.

Could that suggest that these ancient cultures

were trying to worship and venerate

the same extraterrestrial gods

that may have visited this planet in ancient times?

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the mysterious structures

found in and around the city of Xian, China,

were used by ancient rulers to connect

with otherworldly beings?

Ancient astronaut theorists suggest that another,

even more mysterious pyramid, can be found

roughly 500 miles west of Xian in the province of Qinghai,

atop Mount Baigong.

In 2003 a team of Chinese scientists went to Tibet

and investigated the infamous Mount Baigong...

...which has, as they discovered,

a 200-foot-tall pyramid

at the top of the mountain.

There was a system of caves inside that had triangular faces

at the openings of the caves on three areas,

and they found a variety of rusty pieces

that were around the pyramid.

CHILDRESS: Mount Baigong appears to be an artificial pyramid

with three triangular entrances

going inside this mountain pyramid,

and inside are all of these metallic pipes.

The floor of these caves

are littered with metallic parts.

It's like this was some kind of base.

NARRATOR: According to ancient astronaut theory,

the reason that pyramids are found all over the world

from Egypt,

to Peru,

to Mexico

is because our ancestors were taught to build

these structures by extraterrestrial visitors.

If the mysterious pipe-shaped objects found at Mount Baigong

were artificially manufactured with advanced technology,

could this be definitive proof of alien intervention

in the distant past?

In Chinese mythology,

the Kunlun Mountain was said to be the center of the Earth,

and it was supposedly

a-a huge pillar of jade and jasper

and precious gems that

reached up into the sky.

STEAVU: Mount Kunlun is a mythical mountain

that is an axis mundi, which is a central pillar

around which the entire universe revolves.

This is a connector

between Earth and the rest of the universe.

It's where celestial beings can communicate with earthly beings.

You have to wonder if Mount Baigong is not

this mythical Kunlun Mountain

that was some kind of extraterrestrial base

that spanned Earth and the stars.

NARRATOR: Could it be that extraterrestrials

visited China thousands of years ago

and left behind remnants from an ancient base?

Ancient astronaut theorists

suggest China's biggest secrets

may not be on top of its greatest peaks,

but beneath its darkest depths.

NARRATOR: Fuxian Lake.

Yunnan Province, China, 1992.

Expert diver,

Geng Wei, descends into this

remote lake and discovers a surprising phenomenon.

The bottom is littered with hand-carved flagstones

and other stone relics.

The mysterious stones

lie scattered on the bottom

of China's second deepest freshwater lake,

which covers an area of 100 square miles

with a depth of 509 feet.

What he saw was quite extraordinary.

Hand-dressed flagstones, roads, buildings.

And it's as if he discovered

an underwater city.

That clearly has evidence of dwellings

at the bottom of a lake.

It was built when there wasn't a lake,

and that would mean that we're talking about a time

before the last ice age, which would bring

the story of Fuxian Lake

way more into the remote past than what we're being told.

CHILDRESS: Geng Wei made over 35 dives

in Fuxian Lake,

and they even took a submarine down into this lake

to find stairs

and more of these flagstones and walls beneath this lake.

So you have to wonder,

did some kind of advanced civilization exist

at one time beneath Fuxian Lake?

NARRATOR: In 2001, archaeologists

from the Yunnan Provincial Museum

used advanced sonar scanners and cameras

to conduct the monumental task of surveying Fuxian Lake.

The evidence collected convinced

Chinese archaeologists they had discovered structures

of an advanced civilization,

including an arena-type building and pyramids.

This mysterious sunken city covers

more than one square mile, but the questions remain.

Who built it and why?

The pyramid itself is very unusual

and it's-- it-it is said that the pyramid

is as old as the Egyptian pyramids are

and maybe even higher than some of them.

It's an incredible discovery.

CHILDRESS: Ancient Chinese records

speak of a city in the area

of Fuxian Lake called Yuyuan.

However, studies of the underwater structures

at Fuxian Lake show that it's actually much older

than this Yuyuan city.

Could this be the remains of some ancient

and advanced society that was destroyed in the Great Flood?

NARRATOR: Is it possible that an extraterrestrial base

is located deep underwater?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

and suggest USOs,

or unidentified submersible objects,

have been well chronicled in ancient Chinese texts.

REDFERN: According to Chen Jang Fu Zhi,

a book written during the reign

of Emperor Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty,

a horse-like monster lived in the lake.

The animal was described as being white

with red spots on its back.

More intriguingly, it was a creature

that could actually take to the skies.

This suggests it may have been part USO, part UFO.

That's to say, an underwater submersible object

and also an unidentified flying object.

NARRATOR: October 24, 1991.

A local fisherman named Zhang Yuxiang was fishing

on Fuxian Lake during a clear and tranquil day,

when a dense fog suddenly rolled across the vast body of water.

In 1991,

Zhang Yuxiang, a fisherman, was at Fuxian Lake

when he encountered a UFO.

Now, this strange craft

actually emerged from the waters of the lake.

He described it as a shining disc.

This UFO was so close and so powerful

that it actually tossed the boat around.

And then rapidly this craft just disappeared up into the sky.

Lake Fuxian is clearly a-an area

where there have been many strange events over the years.

NARRATOR: Could the flying dragon

that carried the Yellow Emperor

described in ancient Chinese texts

and the USO witnessed by Zhang Yuxiang

be the same alien craft?

And if so, is it possible

that an extraterrestrial base

exists at the bottom of Fuxian Lake?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

and claim strange sightings in China

have become so numerous

that soon the government

will no longer be able

to hide the truth.

NARRATOR: Foshan, China.

October 7, 2015.

Above this sprawling metropolis,

thousands of shocked residents witness

an astonishing spectacle...

a city hovering in the clouds.

The apparition of a cityscape is unmistakable and remains

in the sky for several minutes,

long enough to be captured on video,

which is broadcast on Chinese television

and subsequently disseminated on social media across the globe.

REDFERN: Numerous people reported seeing

what looked like skyscraper-type buildings

in the clouds high in the sky.

It was an amazing spectacle.

There's just no other way to describe it.

NARRATOR: While Chinese officials

denounced the phenomenon as an elaborate hoax, to date,

no one has been able to prove

that the footage is not authentic,

and the video

is backed up by the reports of numerous eyewitnesses.

But some argue that even if the footage is genuine,

it can be explained by an optical illusion

known as Fata Morgana.

So, one theory about what this could have been

is something known as a Fata Morgana,

and, uh, that's a-an illusion type of effect.

Think of a mirage,

in which you're seeing something

close to the horizon,

and it'll give an effect of something

that's-that's not there.

It's an atmospheric illusion.

The reason that I don't think

that this is a Fata Morgana effect

is because this is way too high up to be one.

Using the idea that

this is some type of inversion layer

to somehow broadcast or enhance the idea of a cityscape

in the sky just doesn't hold up.

So, there could in fact have been some type

of a large mother ship or some craft in the sky.

This isn't new.

Now, just a few days later,

over 800 miles away,

we had another sighting of this exact same phenomenon.

So, it stands to reason that there was some type of

physical presence in the sky.

If we assume that the vision of a floating city in the sky

that was seen in Foshan by thousands of people

was just some kind of optical illusion,

I find it highly coincidental that the same vision is seen

hundreds of miles away a few days later

in another city called Jiangxi,

also witnessed by thousands of people.

NARRATOR: Could thousands of people

across China have really witnessed

some type of alien base or mother ship

floating in the sky?

And if so, might it be evidence of extraterrestrials

making their presence known?

Ancient astronaut theorists suggest

there have been many more cases

of alien entities appearing in the skies above China.

Cases that the government could not ignore.

Zhejiang Province, China.

July 7, 2010.

Just after 8:40 p.m.,

the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport,

which serves over 70,000 passengers a day,

is suddenly shut down.

All outbound flights are grounded,

and inbound flights are diverted to nearby airports.

The cause of the shutdown was an unidentified flying object

seen streaking across the night sky

by a flight crew preparing for descent.

Xiaoshan Airport is one of the largest in China.

And that's very important.

It's a very busy airport.

What happened on July 7 is that

a pilot from an incoming passenger airplane

noticed something very unusual coming towards him.

He notified the ground crew

and the airport was shut down

because a comet-like object

was basically speeding towards the airport.

There was a trail behind it.

It was a glowing, oval-shaped object.

NARRATOR: The object was also witnessed and photographed

by numerous Hangzhou residents.

When the UFO was seen, all hell broke loose.

Flights were diverted.

The military was contacted

to see if they were test-flying anything in the air,

which they weren't.

This is the third such incident in five years in China

where the presence of a UFO has either shut down an airport

or caused havoc and amazement amongst the populus.

And it's clearly something that the Chinese government

want to shut down and play down.

It could also be due to the fact that the Chinese have realized

they're not in control of their airspace, somebody else is.

(speaking Chinese)

(translated): The Xiaoshan event is only one of the events

of this kind.

The same thing happened in Guizhou Province.

At that time, the pilots were instructed to avoid the UFO,

ground their aircrafts

and return to the air after the event,

which can provide evidence of the existence

of the UFO phenomenon.

NARRATOR: While many in the United States

view the UFO phenomenon as distinctly American,

recent surveys have shown

that roughly half of the 1.4 billion Chinese people

believe in UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

And ancient astronaut theorists suggest

that despite the Chinese government's dismissal

of recent UFO events,

it now appears

they too are taking an interest

in otherworldly phenomena.

It's incredibly popular in China to be a member

of a UFO community that's trying to make contact

with extraterrestrial beings.

The Chinese government is closely monitoring this

and in fact they're financing some of these research groups.

So, one wonders,

is the Chinese government starting to view

our contact with extraterrestrial beings

as something simply too strong to deny?

NARRATOR: Could recent events be forcing the Chinese government

to take a greater interest in examining possible

extraterrestrial encounters?

Encounters that they have secretly known about for years?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

and suggest that China's effort to manufacture

the world's largest radio telescope

is an explicit mission towards the search for alien life.

NARRATOR Guizhou Province, China.

2011.

Construction commences on a massive engineering

and scientific endeavor.

A 500-meter telescope, also known as FAST.

Nan Rendong, chief scientist of the FAST project states,

"A radio telescope is like a sensitive ear,

separating radio messages from white noise in the universe."

The Chinese government is currently constructing

what will be the largest radio telescope anywhere in the world.

The reflector dish will be 500 meters in diameter

and this will dwarf any other comparable facility.

It will be the best piece of equipment for 20 or 30 years

when it comes to radio astronomy.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists

point to the construction of this behemoth telescope

as proof that China is deeply interested in extraterrestrials.

Do they know there are aliens out there?

Are they trying to get absolute,

verifiable proof positive

and be the first nation to disclose?

The Chinese government was very clear in stating

that this dish was built specifically

for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

So then the question arises,

are they merely following up on their history?

Because China,

as with every other ancient culture,

was visited by extraterrestrials.

What is their interest in exploring deep space?

NARRATOR: The telescope was completed in July of 2016

and is regarded as a giant leap forward

with unprecedented precision that will allow

the Chinese government to survey not only the Milky Way

but also distant galaxies

for radio signals and signs of life.

While many other nations are currently designing

or constructing advanced radio telescopes,

none will surpass the size and capability

of the FAST telescope.

Wu Xiangping, director-general

of the Chinese Astronomical Society, declared,

"It will help us to search for intelligent life

"outside the galaxy

and explore the origins of the universe."

POPE: Out there somewhere might civilizations

be posting scientific and technical information

that they've discovered?

And the first nation to download this information

will have a huge advantage.

They'll be the dominant force on this planet

for the foreseeable future.

Do the Chinese want to be first?

Do they know it's out there?

And is this radio telescope

an attempt to go and get that information?

(speaking Chinese)

(translated): I think it's good and encouraging that our country

is constructing such a huge telescope.

It will help to find aliens

and alien civilization.

STONEHILL: For thousands of years,

Chinese people have collected reports about UFO encounters

and have recorded them.

And those who studied are amazed at the accuracy

and just the sheer wealth of the UFO information

coming from China, and I hope this will continue.

TSOUKALOS: As China slowly opens its doors,

is it possible that we'll encounter that the stories

of the Yellow Emperor are in fact true?

That they were visited by extraterrestrial beings

in the remote past?

Only time will tell.

Could it be that China

is building the world's largest radio telescope

not in hopes of finding proof of alien life in the universe

but in order to welcome new messages from extraterrestrials

that have been visiting China for thousands of years?

And could stories of flying dragons,

Yellow Emperors,

and the existence of strange, secret pyramids

be the proof that ancient astronaut theorists

have been looking for?

One thing is certain--

the evidence of extraterrestrial contact is mounting.

And the ultimate close encounter

could soon happen

right before our eyes.

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