Bizarre Chinese mirage city

The following article debunks this as being an optical illusion, but I just can't work out any way for the images seen in the video to be a product of light refracting in a strange way. Does this seem right to you?

"Lost Civilization" Appears Above Chinese River

It looks like any other city skyline with skyscrapers, a few mountains and trees -- except it isn't real.

The giant mirage appeared across the skyline in East China earlier this month after heavy rainfall and humid conditions covered the Xin’an River.

As mist settled over the river at dusk, tall buildings appeared to rise from nowhere, leading residents in nearby Huanshan City to speculate that the vision may be a "vortex" to a lost civilization.

"It's really amazing, it looks like a scene in a movie, in a fairyland," one resident told UK news channel ITN. The mysterious city had vanished just as quickly as it had come. Scientists have quashed the vortex theory, however, with a far simpler explanation for the incredible sight. They believe it may have been a mirage, caused when moisture in the air becomes warmer than the temperature of the water below. When rays of sunlight cross from the colder air into the warmer air they are refracted or bent -- creating a reflection in the air that looks similar to a reflection in water. It's a common sight for many travellers to wet areas. But one is more likely to encounter puddles of water that disappear when you get close than entire cities floating on rivers.

I mean come on, those mirages are way too detailed! It's one thing if they're telling us there are known buildings and trees near by whose images are being somehow reflected or projected through the air, but that's not what the article seems to be saying.

Is it?

PS: Mods, please forgive me if this is in the wrong category. I honestly wasn't too sure which category it should go in.

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Originally posted by Phage
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thread #48270 on this topic.. =)