Since mid-2024, construction has been underway southwest of Beijing on a massive command center. Spanning over six square kilometers, the site will feature underground bunkers designed to protect China’s military leadership in the event of a conflict, including a nuclear war. The facility is expected to be ten times the size of the Pentagon.

Satellite imagery analyzed by U.S. intelligence reveals a roughly 1,500-acre construction site located 30 kilometers southwest of Beijing. Military experts believe the deep excavations at the site will house reinforced bunkers to safeguard top Chinese military officials, according to Financial times.

This development coincides with the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) ongoing advancements in weaponry and strategic capabilities as it approaches its centenary in 2027. Additionally, the PLA is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and working to improve coordination among its different branches—an area experts consider a key weakness compared to the U.S. military.

2027, according to U.S. intelligence, also comes at a time when President Xi Jinping allegedly ordered the People’s Liberation Army to have the capability to invade Taiwan.

Lenny Babiaz, a former image analyst at the National Geographic Information Agency (NGA), explained that satellite images show that at least 100 cranes are working on developing underground facilities, adding, “There is a possibility that several underground facilities connected through underground passages are being built.”

Although the military was not visible at the scene, there were signs prohibiting drones or photography, and access to the rear and nearby hiking trails and tourist areas was also restricted, according to the FT.

“The new underground high-level command bunker for military leadership, including President Xi, is a sign of China’s intention to build advanced nuclear war capabilities as well as world-class conventional forces,” said Dennis Wilder, former head of China Analysis at the CIA.