Hubei Province


Hubei is a landlocked province in Central China with the capital Wuhan city. Central and southern Hubei are plains called 江汉平原 (Jiānghàn Píngyuán, Jianghan Plain), which are not suitable for underground sites. The western part is mountainous, with several mountain ranges. The most important from north to south are the Wudang Mountains, the Jing Mountains, the Daba Mountains, and the Wu Mountains. Also there are the Dabie Mountains in the northeast on the border to Henan and Anhui and the Tongbai Mountains in the north. The Daba Mountains have the highest peak in Hubei, Shennong Mountain (3,105 m asl), and the forestry area of Shennongjia with its Wild Men or Yeren, the local version of bigfoot.

The mountain ranges consist mainly of limestone and are karstified. Due to the humid subtropical climate the karst is generally tower karst, with caves of enormous size. Tenglong Dong with a length of 53,210 m is the third-longest cave in China [2023]. It also has one of the tallest cave entrances on earth, 74 m high and 64 m wide. On their leaflet they show a helicopter flying into the cave.