Wanggongchang Explosion

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Wanggongchang Explosion

Map of China in 1626
Date	May 30, 1626 (1626-05-30)
Location	Beijing, Ming China
Casualties
Possibly as many as 20,000

The Wanggongchang Explosion (Chinese: 王恭廠大爆炸), also known as the Great Tianqi Explosion (天啟大爆炸), Wanggongchang Calamity (王恭廠之變) or Beijing Explosive Incident in the late Ming dynasty (晚明北京爆炸事件), was a catastrophic explosion that occurred on May 30, 1626, during the late reign of the Tianqi Emperor at the heavily populated Ming Chinese capital of Beijing,^[1] and reportedly killed around 20,000 people. The epicenter was a major production center of gunpowder, but it is uncertain exactly what triggered the explosion.