落笔洞遗址

Luòbǐ dòng yízhǐ - Luobi Cave - Hanging Paint Brushes

Useful Information

Location:	Hainan Island, north of Sanya.
Open:	No restrictions. [2020]
Fee:	free. [2020]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	Ar=140 m². Portal: W=9, H=12.
Guided tours:	n/a
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	accessible
Bibliography:	Y. Li, S. Hao, W. Huang et al. (2019): Luobi Cave, South China: A Comparative Perspective on a Novel Cobble-Tool Industry Associated with Bone Tool Technology during the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition Journal of World Prehistory 32, 143–178 (2019). DOI pdf Side Hao, Wanbo Huang (1999): 三亚落笔洞遗址, Sanya Luobidong Yizhi, Luobidong Cave Site 7.5 x 10.5", 138 pp., plus 26 b/w plates, text in Chinese with English abstract, boards, Haihou, 1999. ISBN 7806096140.
Address:	Luobi Cave, Tel: +86-, Fax: +86-,
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1271–1368	inscriptions carved into the walls during the Yuan Dynasty.
1283	dated inscription.
1505–1525	mentioned in Ming Dynasty records for Hainan.
1992-1993	70 m² of the floor excavated.
2001	inscribed on the list of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hainan

Description

Luobi Cave is famous as an archaeological site. It was excavated in the 1990s and revealed 10,000 years old human remains. This makes them the oldest in Hainan. As a result the cave was declared a Major National Historical and Cultural Site.

落笔洞遗址 (Luobi Cave Ruins) is a cave in its late stage, as much of the cave is already collapsed. The name translates hanging paint brushes cave, which is derived from two huge stalactites in the middle of the ceiling, which resemble paint brushes. The huge portal which is 12 m high leads to single chamber with a size of 140 m². Half of the floor has been excavated.

According to legend visitors hit by water dripping from the cave's stalactites will become a talented writer. The large flat rocks scattered across the floor of the cave are said to be inkstones once used by Taoist Immortals.

Nearby is a smaller cave named 仙朗洞 (Xianlang Cave), which is also an archaeological site. According to legend it was the home of an immortal woman who descended from heaven and married a man from the local Li minority.