[Podcast] A 17th-century mushroom cloud: The Wanggongchang explosion

On May 30, 1626, an imperial armory just west of the Forbidden City exploded with a force rivaling that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It remains one of the deadliest non-military explosions in history.

Read the article by James Carter: https://thechinaproject.com/2022/06/01/a-17th-century-mushroom-cloud-the-wanggongchang-explosion/

Narrated by John Darwin Van Fleet.

China Stories is published twice weekly, on Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

James Carter is Professor of History and part of the Nealis Program in Asian Studies at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He is the author of three books on China’s modern history, most recently Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai. Read more

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[Podcast] A 17th-century mushroom cloud: The Wanggongchang explosion

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