Guangyuan
Plant 821
32�26'N 105�52'E
In addition to the original plutonium production reactor at Jiuquan [Yumen], the Chinese buildt a second, similar, plutonium reactor and chemical separation plant at Guangyuan [Kuangyuan]. This facility began production in mid-1973, with approximately the same plutonium production capacity as the Yumen reactor of 300-400 Kg per annum. Guangyuan is centered on a 1,000MW light water graphite reactor [LWGR] fueled with natural Uranium. This reactor is the largest plutonium producing reactor in China, with about twice the power level of the reactor at Jiuquan, and is complemented by China�s largest plutonium separation facility.
In the late 1960s as part of the "third line" effort to relocate critical defense infrastructure in the relatively remote interior, China built new [allegedly underground] facilities supplement the plutonium production reactor at
Jiuquan
[third line plutonium production reactor at Guangyuan
], the design and fabrication facility at Haiyan
[third line design and fabrication facility at Mianyang
], and the gaseous diffusion plant at Lanzhou
[third line plutonium processing facility at Yibin
].
Photographic Evaluation Report
High resolution imagery is presently available only from declassified CORONA imagery. As of 07 October 2000 no Russian 2-meter resolution KVR-1000 imagery was available via the SPIN-2 service on TerraServer. Three images of this area were present in archival Space Imaging IKONOS 1-meter imagery available on the CARTERRA� Archive.
Sources and Methods
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/china/facility/guangyuan.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Saturday, October 07, 2000 9:26:26 AM
