黃龍洞

Huánglóng Dòng - Huang Long Dong - Yellow Dragon Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Suoxiyu Nature Reserve, Wulingyuan Scenic Spot, 10 km from Suoxiyu town. 40 km from Zhangjiajie City. (29.362977, 110.614922)
Open:	All year daily 0-22. [2023]
Fee:	Adults CNY 100, Children (14-17) CNY 50, Children (6-13) free, Seniors (60-64) CNY 50, Seniors (65+) free. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave river cave.
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=13,000 km, VR=100 m, T=16 °C.
Guided tours:	D=2 h, L=3,200 m, (2,400 m by foot, 800 m by boat), St=900, MinAge=6. V=100,000/a [1991] V=300,000/a [2000] V=1,000,000/a [2010]
Photography:
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Huanglong Dong.
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

1983	exploration started by Mao Jinchu, a local villager.
FEB-1984	explorers find the cave behind the sumps.
JUN-1984	Huanglongdong Management Institute established.
01-OCT-1984	show cave opened to the public.
1992	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
1997	Huanglongdong managed by Beijing Datong Company.
1999	World Aerobic Flight Competition, launched and operated by Huanglongdong Investment Co., Ltd., traveled through Tianmen and broadcasted the world with the name of Huanglongdong.
2005	selected as "the most beautiful tourist cave in China".
2009	selected as "the most beautiful tourist cave in China".

Description

黃龍洞 (Huanglong Dong, Yellow Dragon Cave) is located in the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area. This area has spectacular ravines and gorges. The rocks are a mixture of 2/3 quartzite and 1/3 limestone, and while the quartzites form strange rock formations and gorges, the limestone is heavily karstified. The caves are concentrated in the Suoxi River area, where about 40 caves are known. Others are found at the south-east side of Tianzi Mountain.

Huanglong Dong is one of the ten longest caves in China, 13 km of passages in four levels. The Chinese are rather manic in counting the features, so cave contains 13 chambers, 96 passages, 3 waterfalls, 2 underground rivers, 3 pools, and 1 underground lake. The Dragon Palace Hall contains 1705 stalagmites and pillars, of which 516 are above 1 meter, and the distribution density of stalagmites is 0.12 per square meter. Although this list seems a little strange to western eyes, it is still impressive.

Other superlatives are more in the gusto of westerners. One of the waterfalls is breathtaking 50 meters high, the biggest chamber has a floor of 4,000 m². And there is a stalagmite called the Ding Hai Shen (Holy Needle), which is 19.2 m high but only 10 cm in diameter. Legend tells, it protects the Dragon King who resides in the dark depths. Because of its value for tourism it was insured in 1998 for 100 million yuan (US$12.1 million). The cave is visited by boats on the cave river. In 2010 the number of visitors reached 1 Million per year.

During the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, there was a drought and the locals could not find a way to solve the issue. So they asked the most respected sorcerer He Junru for help. The old sorcerer He then went in the Yellow Dragon Cave with his followers to do magical practice, to pray to God for rain. But they never came back. Since no one dared to enter the cave again to find out the reasons and the Yellow Dragon Cave has remained mysterious to people there since then.

Many caves in China have been visited for hundreds or thousands of year. This cave was first explored by eight local young men which were led by Mao Jinchu in 1983. They were first blocked by a sump which they finally crossed in February 1984. It seems they started the development of the show cave in the same year, and opened it to the public in the same year. There is a rather long trail of 2,800 m and an 800 m boat ride. As the boats obviously go in and out there are tours made in both directions, either by going in by boat and then walking out of going in by foot and return by boat. The tours are actually identical, except for their direction. Its simply luck, on which one you will participate.