黄龙洞

Huánglóng dòng - Yellow Dragon Cave - Guizhen Cave - Fuye Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Songpan County, Sichuan. 10 m left of Huanglonghou Temple. (32.726940, 103.832664)
Open:	All year daily 8-16. [2020]
Fee:	JUN to 15-DEC: Adults CNY 170. 16-DEC to MAY: Adults CNY 60. Hongyanguan Cableway: Up CNY 80, Down CNY 40. [2020]
Classification:	Tufa Cave Dragon Cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=50 m, W=20 m, H=30 m, A=3,568 m asl.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Huanglong, Huanglong Village, Songpan County, Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province. E-mail:
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

Description

黄龙洞 (Huánglóng dòng - Yellow Dragon Cave) is the largest travertine cave in Huanglonggou. It is also known as 归真洞 (Guīzhēn dòng) or 佛爷洞 (Fóyé dòng). It is located at the Huanglonghou Temple in the Huanglong Scenic Area. The vast rimstone pools and waterfalls obviously created numerous small caves in the valley by growing irregularly and enclosing empty space in the process. The speleothems are partly tufa deposits and partly stalagmites and stalactites which have grown on the tufa after the cave was closed. There is a massive difference, as tufa is porous because of the enclosed plants which decompose after they are encrusted. Underground speleothems grow without this disturbance.

The cave is known for a very long time, and it seems it was always a place of worship. There are three sitting Buddhas built in the Ming Dynasty. It is not clear if they were intentionally placed in dripping water, but the subsequent limestone precipitation has covered them with a layer of flowstone.

The cave has a big opening and in winter cold air fills the cave, causing the formation of icicles and ice stalagmites. The poetic and inaccurate Chinese names are ice forest, bamboo shoots and frozen waterfalls.

This is the biggest cave in the area and it is developed with trails and electric light. As it is part of the scenic area there is no additional fee and no guided tours, the given dates are those of the scenic area.