Great Balls of China to Defend Against 'Apocalypse'

As people across the globe tremble in anticipation of supposed Mayan-predicted apocalypse, one Chinese villager says he may have just what humanity needs: tsunami-proof survival pods.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

Seriously?

Topics

Seriously?, Asia

Places

China, Beijing, Zhejiang, Xinjiang

Tags

apocalypse

Transcript

SCRIPT: It's one Chinese man's home made way of surviving an apocalypse. A water-proof, ice-proof- fire proof survival pod. Liu Qiyuan claims its Made to withstand the force of tsunamis and earthquakes and to enable people to escape shipwrecks. A simple crash test proves its strength. SOUNDBITE 1 Liu Qiyuan (man), survival pod maker (Mandarin, 11 sec): "We've all seen if you put a ping pong ball into water 50 meters deep. Even though the skin of the ping pong ball is very thin it can withstand the pressure and won't break. I used the same principle to design the pods." Mr Liu, a furniture maker from a small village just outside Beijing claims 30 people can live for up to two months in his insulated pods made of steel, fibreglass and foam. There's enough room for food, water, supplies of oxygen… it's even fitted with a propellor. He started work on the pods earlier this year, in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and after watching the disaster film 2012, inspired by prophecies of an apocalypse linked to the end of a Mayan calendar on December 21st. SOUNDBITE 2 Liu Qiyuan (man), survival pod maker (Mandarin, 12 sec): "If there really is some kind of apocalypse… then if you use my product it has the ability to save people and I think that would be my contribution to humanity." Liu says his life savings and borrowed money have gone into making each of the seven pods. Costing him almost 50 thousand US dollars each. SOUNDBITE 3 Liu Qiyuan (man), survival pod maker (Mandarin, 6 sec): "Only my daughter supports me, practically everyone else thinks I'm crazy." SOUNDBITE 4 Liu Daiyue (woman), daughter of Liu Qiyuan (Mandarin, 18 sec): "When I first heard about my dads plan, I thought it was great, because he'd promised to build me a spherical house since I was small. and I really support him, I help him by providing ideas." Liu has not sold any of the pods. But says they're available to anyone interested, especially China's marine authorities. SOUNDBITE 5 Liu Qiyuan (man), survival pod maker (Mandarin, 14 sec): "If only the Maritime department could pay more attention to the pods and promote them, then we may never hear of 'sea disasters' again." In the meantime, Liu says he's working on a second generation survival pod, with a stronger steel structure and more gadgets. He and his daughter may be the envy of all his neighbours if days to come to an end. SHOTLIST: QIANTU VILLAGE, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA, DECEMBER 11, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV -Survival pod creator Liu Qiyuan standing in front of his camouflaged pod -A group of Liu's laborers helping him spin the pod -Liu climbing into a survival pod for a durability test -Close-up of Liu climbing in -A truck backing into the pod -The slight graze to skin of the pod due to the test collision SOUNDBITE 1 -Various of Liu climbing into a pod -Liu fastening his seatbelt inside a pod explaining how to hold on the bar on the edge of the in-built table for balance -Inside a 14-seat survival pod -Liu pointing to the spare oxygen tank and storage place for food water and other supplies RIVER NEAR QIANTU VILLAGE, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA, UNKNOWN DATE, SOURCE: LIU DAIYUE -- NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL USE -Liu's pod moving on water during a test with the help of a propellor QIANTU VILLAGE, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA, DECEMBER 11, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV -Liu inside a big shed housing two pods currently under the early-phase of construction -Various of men sanding the outside of the pods -Men pushing the pod SOUNDBITE 2 -Men wheeling portable staircase closer to the pod's entrance -Liu standing inside the entrance of a pod SOUNDBITE 3 SOUNDBITE 4 -Wide of several pods under construction in Liu's yard -Liu inside a pod untying the pod door -Liu securing the pod door to demonstrate the pod's leek-proof ability SOUNDBITE 5 -Various of the steel frame of new pods under construction RIVER NEAR QIANTU VILLAGE, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA, UNKNOWN DATE, SOURCE: LIU DAIYUE -- NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL USE -Pod with Liu Qiyuan and two others being pushed by men into the river -Pod moving along river with the help of propellor /// -------------------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: China-society-offbeat-apocalypse,FOCUS Great balls of China to defend against 'apocalypse' by Tom Hancock QIANTUN, China, Dec 13, 2012 (AFP) - As people across the globe tremble in anticipation of next week's supposed Mayan-predicted apocalypse, one Chinese villager says he may have just what humanity needs: tsunami-proof survival pods. Camouflage-clad former farmer and furniture maker Liu Qiyuan, 45, inspected his latest creation, a sphere several metres tall he calls "Noah's Ark", designed to withstand towering tsunamis and devastating earthquakes. "The pod won't have any problems even if there are 1,000-metre-high waves... it's like a ping pong ball, its skin may be thin, but it can withstand a lot of pressure," he told AFP at his workshop in Qiantun, an hour from Beijing. Liu's seven completed or under-construction pods, made using a fibreglass casing over a steel frame, have cost him 300,000 yuan ($48,000) each, he says, and are equipped with oxygen tanks, food and water supplies. They also come with seat belts, essential for staying safe in storms, Liu said, strapping himself into position before his assistants shook the sphere vigorously from outside. "The pods are designed to carry 14 people at a time, but it's possible for 30 people to survive inside for at least two months," he said. Their insulation was such that "a person could live for four months in the pod at the North or South Pole without freezing, or even feeling slightly cold," he said. One of the spheres even boasts the domestic comforts of a table, bed and flowery wallpaper. Liu claims he came up with the design after watching the 2009 Hollywood disaster film "2012", which is inspired by the expiry on December 21 of the Mayan Long Count, a more than 5,000 year calendar used by the ancient Central American civilisation. "If there really is some kind of apocalypse, then you could say I've made a contribution to the survival of humanity," Liu said. Apocalyptic predictions have provoked widespread fears among believers, including in China, where two rural counties sold out of candles this month after a panic that three days of darkness would begin on Dec 21, the Xinhua news agency reported. A businessman in China's eastern Zhejiang province has received 21 orders for bright yellow doomsday survival pods also sold as "Noah's Ark," for five million yuan each, the state run China Daily reported. A man from China's northwestern province of Xinjiang told AFP that he has invested all his savings, approximately $160,000, to build a survival ark, fearing that his home will be engulfed in a doomsday flood. Chinese authorities have sought to reassure citizens, with Beijing's police force publishing an online notice on Wednesday stating that "the so-called end of the world is a rumour", and advising citizens to use "scientific concepts". Liu first conceived of spherical houses to withstand earthquakes, which occur frequently in China, but switched his focus to survival technology after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed nearly a quarter of a million lives. Liu, who is married with a daughter, said many were sceptical when he first outlined his plans. But despite building them he has not sold any, and is worried about repaying loans he took from neighbours and friends to fund his workshop. "I worked for many years without saving much money... I invested most of my money in the pods, because it's worth it, it's about saving lives" he said. Keen to demonstrate the design's strength to AFP, he used a step-ladder to clamber inside one pod before an assistant reversed a pick-up truck into it, inflicting only a minor scratch on its surface. Peeking out of the hatch, he grinned triumphantly. "No problem," he said. "I didn't feel a thing." END