The City That Floated in the Sky

This story is one of those internet sensations that just hooks you right in. We’re talking about an entire, airy city, complete with what looked like towering skyscrapers or castle spires, that supposedly appeared floating right there in the clouds above two Chinese provinces: Fan in Guangdong and, a few days later, in Changi.

This wasn’t some fuzzy blob; the imagery, as described by supposed witnesses, was crystal clear. It only lasted a few minutes in each location, but supposedly had thousands of people looking up, pointing, and recording.

Theories: From Magic to Machinework

The mysterious apparition immediately led to a flurry of theories. Some people jumped straight to the supernatural. Could it be a literal city from a parallel universe briefly opening up? Others, less romantically, suggested it was highly advanced, top-secret government holographic technology.

The official word, though, was much more grounded. Weather experts explained the phenomenon as a natural mirage or an optical illusion known as Fatamorgana.

Fatamorgana takes its name from the Arthurian enchantress Morgan le Fay. It’s a specific type of mirage that dramatically distorts distant objects, making them appear elevated and alien. This happens due to a stark contrast where cooler air close to the ground meets much hotter air high up.

Where Things Get Weird

As this story took off online, a couple of things stood out to me.

First, in this day and age where everyone is a skeptic, very few people seem to genuinely question the authenticity of the core video evidence.

Second, the mainstream explanation quickly settled on “just a mirage.”

I wanted to dive into this a bit deeper with you all, not just as a reader, but as someone who looks for consistency in a compelling narrative. And my biggest question is simple: Did this phenomenon even really happen?

The Curious Case of the Single Video

A number of major news outlets, like The Telegraph and IFL Science, reported on the alleged floating city as if it were a solid fact. But here’s the rub: they all linked back to the same piece of video footage, which was uploaded to a paranormal YouTube channel on October 13th.

Think about it:

• Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were supposedly gazing at this spectacle.
• In modern China, virtually everyone has a camera phone.
• Yet, nearly every single report online seemed to be citing the same single video clip.

Even an official Chinese news report that showed the mirage used the very same footage.

What’s even more telling is a separate report from a local news station. Reporters actually went into the city of Forchan to interview residents, asking if anyone had seen the event. Their finding? They couldn’t find a single person who claimed to have witnessed the floating city.

I scoured China’s social media sites. The same video was circulating, and no one came forward to claim they were the original source. After extensive searching, I managed to find one other related image being shared on Twitter, and that was about it.

A Desire to Believe

If you’ve followed my discussions before, you know I try to keep an open mind about everything and don’t immediately jump to calling something a hoax. Honestly, when I first watched the video, I really wanted it to be real; it looked incredibly realistic.

I’m also not someone who dismisses every mirage as a normal optical illusion. There have been other, much more credible sightings in history: people seeing modern cities so vividly they could even see figures in office buildings, with structures that no one could identify. There are even cases where witnesses reported hearing sounds.

But, with this specific “floating city” story, the lack of independent evidence and the reliance on a single, non-attributed video make it a very tough sell for me.

What Do You Think?

That’s just my take on this whole thing. Now it’s your turn.

What are your thoughts on this mystery?

• Do you believe this is real?
• Do you believe it’s a hoax?
• If you think it’s real, what do you think that ethereal city in the sky truly was?