Our tiny planet takes up but a microscopic speck in a universe composed of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each containing trillions of stars and planets – quantities and distances simply beyond the grasp of human beings. Yet one fact that is becoming increasingly accepted, even among the scientific community, is that the possibility of us sharing this vast and mysterious universe with other life forms is extremely high. The governments of the world have been monitoring the skies for years and many renowned physicists from the world’s top universities are busy exploring the possibility of life beyond our planet as we speak. In 2010, Stephen Hawking famously declared that extraterrestrials are almost certain to exist and that we should avoid making contact at all costs, and references hinting towards the existence of extraterrestrial life can be interpreted in the texts of the First Testament of the Holy Bible to manuscripts found in ancient Egypt.

The subject of aliens and UFOs is without doubt a highly contentious one; but one fact cannot be disputed: there has been a staggering increase in reported UFO sightings across the globe. In China alone, UFO sightings have been the source of numerous airport closures in the past year, and have created a stir in the Chinese cyber world. Literally every day, new posts about UFO sightings are posted on the popular micro-blogging site Sina Weibo. Even the Chinese media has been doing its part to fuel speculation and excitement. Here’s a round-up of some of the major UFO and paranormal sightings in China’s skies in recent times.

1) Super UFO in Beijing and Shanghai – Aug 20th, 2011
A massive glowing ball was seen hovering high in the skies above Shanghai and Beijing at the same time on the night of August 20th. Several startled civil aviation pilots reported the sightings to the East China Air Traffic Control Bureau and one pilot described it as being several hundred times larger than the moon in appearance.

The explanation? Some claim that the light coincided with the launch of an intercontinental missile in California, while others were quick to dismiss it as a natural astronomical phenomenon. These are all speculations however and an official explanation is yet to be given.

2) UFO shuts Chongqing Airport – Aug 17th, 2011
Airport closures due to UFOs are not rare occurrences in China, and this is but the most recent example. On August 17th, flights were diverted to a nearby airport in Chengdu, and ground workers at the airport claimed they spotted what looked like a sky lantern or balloon in the sky.

Was it real? According to Want China Times, an unnamed government official in Chongqing told reporters that there was no UFO, but that the flight diversions were an “airspace control exercise.” No further details were given. And, according another website dedicated to the paranormal, photos of the supposed UFO posted by netizens on Sina Weibo, were examined and deemed to be “an usual cloud.”

3) Crop Circle appears in Qinghai – August 16th, 2011
Crop circles have long been associated with aliens, many claiming that some of the designs are just too perfect and too mathematically complex to be created by man. Many others have of course, been exposed as fakes. Crop Circles in China are a rather rare phenomenon however, so obviously netizens went wild when they learnt about the appearance of a crop circle in the sands of the Qinghai Plateau. However, much to the disappointment of many, the crop circle turned out to an advertising campaign by BMW and a video of how they created the formation was later posted on Sina Weibo.

4) Airport closure in Hangzhou due to UFO – July 7th, 2010
Echoing the recent case in Chongqing, Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan Airport was shut down for half an hour when a UFO was spotted above the airport’s airspace. Dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled as a result. Surprisingly, an official investigation was actually carried out for this case, and officials later announced that it was likely to be a private plane. The object in the photo accompanying media reports was later deemed to be an airplane making a landing. Read more about it here.

5) Strange dragon-like formation filmed in Xi’an – September 1st, 2010
Video footage of a strange, moving dragon-like formation in the sky above a housing estate in Xi’an went viral on the Chinese web last year. Some netizens speculated that it was a dragon, while others conspired that it was extra-terrestrial in nature. Perhaps dragons in Chinese mythology were actually aliens? Not so, according to skeptics – many claimed that the unusual scene was caused by a natural build-up of static in the clouds or some other unusual natural phenomenon.

Watch the footage here on youku.com.

6) UFO sightings in Taiyuan and Linfen – October 11th, 2010
Shanxi, the most polluted province in China – who knows what kind of paranormal activity goes on behind that dusty, grey layer of air pollution! On October 11th, 2010, residents in the cities of Taiyuan and Linfen claimed they saw two glowing objects hovering in the sky. Did all that coal residue affect people’s logical reasoning, or were aliens really behind the spectacle? Interestingly, this case remains open for speculation as Chinese authorities refused to comment about the sighting.

The above examples are only the tip of the iceberg. Whether you believe in aliens or not, UFO sightings will continue to fascinate mankind; air traffic is likely to continue to be affected by UFOs and Chinese netizens won’t stop posting images, videos and theories surrounding the possibility of extraterrestrial life. While there is a logical explanation for the majority of reported cases, let’s all remember that there are things out there beyond our comprehension – there are too many places in outer space where no man has gone before (or will ever reach), so as long as that’s the case, anything is possible! 

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Keywords: UFOs China UFO sightings China paranormal activity China aliens China