Growing up in “404 Not Found”: China's nuclear city in the Gobi Desert

Post by Vincent_Yan404 » Mon, Dec 29, 2025, 5:21 AM UTC

avhception wrote: post #291

Vincent_Yan404 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’ve touched on a very sensitive and important point. It’s true that many people who grew up in China have a complicated relationship with narratives that focus on negative historical periods. There is often a defensive reaction, a feeling that such stories are 'smearing' the country's image. However, as a writer, I believe that truth is always more important than a curated image. Authentic memories are often scarc…

Hello from Germany, and thanks for the blog post. Fascinating read. I liked how you intertwined the personal point of view with the bigger picture. "Facing a complex past" is a big theme in Germany, too, of course, and I think it's the only proper way to deal with it. Direct witness accounts and retelling are important and add something that a dry history book can't provide. Keep up the good work!

Post by Vincent_Yan404 » Mon, Dec 29, 2025, 5:29 AM UTC

echelon wrote: post #100

fcpguru wrote: post #68

Amazing, related story. I had a friend that always talked about growning up in 418 Pennsylvania. It began as a company town for a ceramics manufacturer in the 1920s. The factory specialized in heat resistant vessels. You know like kettles, pitchers, industrial teapots. Each stamped each with a model number tied to production lines. Line 418 was the most profitable. When the post office opened, the clerk assumed “418”…

Atlanta is frequently referred to as "the 404" due to it being one of our area codes for calling. April 4th is an informal city holiday, "404 day". Lots of artists and companies make "404" branded stuff, and you generally see the number all over the city: https://mondaynightbrewing.com/beer/404-atlanta-lager/ https://sneakernews.com/2025/03/21/adidas-superstar-404-day-... https://x.com/kodakk6000/status/1775929898390…

Post by sgjohnson » Mon, Dec 29, 2025, 6:17 AM UTC

pixl97 wrote: post #231

sgjohnson wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This argument that nuclear power generation is clean if you ignore the times when it isn't seems a bit no-true-Scotsman to me. The same can be said about wind and solar. Nothing about producing the rare earths required is clean. Even if we include Chernobyl, nuclear is still by far the safest source of energy when looking at deaths per TWh generated. > I can, off the top of my head, name two sites that are dangerou…

If I set up a wind generator and then leave it with no maintenance it's a risk to an area a little bit bigger than its maximum height. If I leave a nuclear reactor unattended it's a risk to hundreds of thousands of square miles.

Post by astrange » Mon, Dec 29, 2025, 6:24 AM UTC

p2detar wrote: post #20

eunos wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were programmers already during Cultural Revolution in China?

I could believe it, the timespan should be 1966-1976, so maybe in late 70s. I know a lot of automation software was being written in my Eastern European socialist country in assembly language around 1974. I think mostly for 6800-based chips like probably MOS 6502.

Post by Ey7NFZ3P0nzAe » Mon, Dec 29, 2025, 6:48 AM UTC

swe_dima wrote: post #27

My grandfather, who is a nuclear scientist, and my mom also come from a small closed-off city in Siberia (Russia). Visiting my grandparents I remember we had to go through a sort of border control to get there. My mom told stories of how the government would change the asphalt every year in that city to cover the nuclear dust.