蘑菇云 (móguyún): mushroom cloud

The image of the mushroom cloud is forever tied to Hiroshima/Nagasaki (1945) and to China's first atomic test at Lop Nur on 1964-10-16. PRC media regularly invoke 蘑菇云 when discussing 两弹一星 ('two bombs, one satellite'), China's atomic, hydrogen, and satellite programmes.

memory

Literally 'mushroom + cloud', exactly the same metaphor as the English term, because the cap-and-stem shape of a mushroom matches the post-explosion cloud.