In Alaska, at the northwestern tip of the North American continent, there is a forgotten place in the world, claiming to be the loneliest town in the world, with a total population of only about 300 people and a perennial temperature of minus 20 degrees. The town is called Whittier, and it got its name because there is a glacier called Whittier Glacier in the surrounding area.
During the Cold War, it was built as a military base by the US military and handed over to the people in the 1960s and 1970s. After that, people settled here one after another, and over time, it developed into a small town. In the beginning, people's life in the small town was not very peaceful, and they often suffered from various sudden natural disasters.
Among them, the local museum recorded an unprecedented super earthquake with an intensity of 9.2. The tsunami, a secondary disaster caused by the earthquake, set off huge waves of up to 104 meters, and the town was submerged in an instant. According to statistics, there were only more than 30 people living in the town at that time, and almost none of them survived.
But after the disaster subsided, there were still people who were willing to come to the town and continue to hold on to this land and rebuild their homes.
To this day, the town is almost isolated from the rest of the world, and rarely takes the initiative to interact with outsiders. There was only one overland road to the town, about 4 kilometers long, and it was the longest train tunnel in the United States at that time. This old and abandoned train tunnel has traces of artificial excavation on both sides of the rock wall. Those who have visited lament that the end of the tunnel seems to be connected to another world.
It is said that it is not easy to enter the town.
Usually, before outsiders enter the tunnel, there will be a special person to guard and ask to pay the corresponding entrance fee. There is only one chance to enter and exit each, there are strict requirements for time control, and once missed, the tunnel will automatically close. Before that, it is necessary to go through complicated and cumbersome procedures, and be informed by the relevant personnel of various precautions, such as prohibiting talking to passers-by, prohibiting going to supermarkets, prohibiting going to the post office, prohibiting going to the police station, and so on.
At first, many people wondered, why does a small town have so many rules? It wasn't until the legendary town of Whittier appeared in front of them that everyone gradually understood the reason.
Entering the town is a completely different sight. As the only land passage, the tunnel not only cuts off too much contact with the outside world, but even the weather is two faces with the outside world.
At a glance, the surrounding snow is vast, it is difficult to see vehicles and figures, and there is only one 14-storey building in the town, called The Bejichi Tower, which stands alone in the center. During the Cold War, it was a dormitory for the concentration of U.S. troops. After the withdrawal, only this building and a bar next to it remained, which remained until now.
The building has a total of 150 rooms and accommodates all the inhabitants of the town. The remaining rooms are used to set up other functional places. A single building includes government offices, restaurants and pharmacies, schools, supermarkets, police stations, churches, prisons and so on.
It is no exaggeration to say that from a day's worth of eating, drinking, and sleeping, to work and study, service and office, whatever residents want to do, can be easily realized inside. Therefore, the outside world also calls this town "a city under one roof".
What's even more comical is that the longest time it takes for residents to leave school or company is about five minutes on average. Because, this is just the time to wait for an elevator, it is inevitable. In addition, living in it, it is very likely that such a scene of dog blood will be staged: if you are not careful, the next-door neighbor is likely to be your future boss who loves and kills each other, or the lover you are looking for.
Residents of the town, unless they want to see the outside world, or breathe fresh air, they do not have to go out of the building at all, they can easily experience the sophistication of the society. But most residents said that they were used to this kind of life of not going out, and going out would be very uncomfortable, willing to stay in this building for the rest of their lives until they died. This may be the highest state of the house, occupying a building, as if you have the whole world!
In fact, at the beginning, the outside world was inevitably afraid of the small town of Whittier. In such a closed environment, are people here born with a lonely personality, a gloomy heart, or do not care about communicating with people at all?
However, the truth is that the residents of the small town of Whittier are not as "old fire" as everyone thinks. They get along very well with each other, help each other, and take care of each other. When you first start to contact outsiders, you are not too enthusiastic, but you are sincere and polite. It's just a language gap, and there are real difficulties in communication.
Today, the uniqueness of the small town of Whittier has also aroused great concern from the outside world. Every summer, more than 700,000 visitors from all over the world delve into the hidden lifestyle and history of the region.
So the point is, if you organize a city escape plan, live in the small town of Whittier for a few days, and experience a life of zero contact and zero communication with the outside world, would you be willing?
Text | Yang Qing Picture | Network Editor| Anecdote