Record-high temperatures exacerbated troubling droughts across China this summer and reduced water levels of the Yangtze River to historic lows. They also revealed something remarkable: ancient Buddhist relics at a previously submerged island in the city of Chongqing, according to VICE.
The three statues were estimated to be 600 years old, dating to the Qing and Ming dynasties, Xinhua state media reported. They were found on the Foyeliang island reef and spurred increased tourism to the region by Chinese citizens, according to Reuters.
The relics were previously revealed by low water levels in 2020, only to reemerge during this year’s severe drought.
One of these impressive relics, which appears to have been carved into the rock face, measures more than 3 feet tall and depicts a monk sitting on a lotus pedestal.
Niu Yingbin, an associate researcher at the Chongqing Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute who inspected the statues in early August, told Sina they were constructed to bless boats passing along the Yangtze.
For locals, their reappearance has been an invigorating surprise.
“I think this is very precious,” Gu Yunfeng, who swam across the Yangtze to see the statues for himself, told Reuters. “I don’t think we will see it again when the water level comes back. So I’m here to see it. This is the culture that our ancestors have left us.”
The world’s third-longest river, the Yangtze now sits at its lowest level for this time of the year since experts started keeping records in 1865, according to Yahoo. Those studying the drought measured water levels at a key area of the Yangtze at almost 20 feet lower than the recent average.
China issued its first national drought alert of the year on Aug. 18. Power usage across the country has been limited as a result, and various factory work in the southwest has been put on hold.
Rainfall in the Yangtze basin has been 45 percent lower than usual since July, which complemented high temperatures in drying up the river.
Forecasts fortunately predict this heatwave will subside in one week, with the relics potentially returning to their place underwater.