九天洞

Jiŭtiān Dòng - Yiyuan Jiutian Cave - Jiu Tian Dong - Nine Heaven Cave - Nine-Skies Cave

Useful Information

Location:	160 Wangfeng Road, Nanlushan Town, Yiyuan County, Zibo City. At the end of Wangfeng Road, 3 kilometers north of Nanlushan Town Government Station. (36.271655, 118.068413)
Open:	DEC to MAY daily 8:30-17. JUN to NOV daily 8:30-18. [2021]
Fee:	Adults CNY 50, Children (1.2-1.5 m) CNY 15, Children (<1.2 m) free, Students CNY 30, Military CNY 30. Yiyuan Lushan Forest Park: Adults CNY 25. [2021]
Classification:	Karst cave Middle Ordovician thick micrite limestone
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=1,200 m, T=18 °C.
Guided tours:	L=500 m, D=1 h.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Yiyuan Jiutian Cave, Yiyuan County, Zibo City, Tel: +86-533-3680164, Tel: +86-533-3680898.
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

1991	discovered and begin of cave development.
1993	opened as a show cave.
1995	show cave extended.
1997	show cave extended.
2001	cave modernized by Professor Zhu Xuewen and his team.

Description

九天洞 (Yiyuan Jiutian Cave, Nine-Skies Cave) is located at the southern foot of Mount Lu. The cave was opened to the public in 1993 and modernized in 2001 by Professor Zhu Xuewen and his team. He is a well-known Chinese cave scientist and chairman of the Chinese Cave Research Association. They explored the cave and then redesigned the show cave completely, including a new light system, which gave Jiutian Cave a new look. The operators are quite proud of their scientific and modern design.

There are several Chinese caves which are named Jiutian Dong or Nine Heaven Cave. According to an old Chinese legend the heaven has nine levels. And as this cave has nine chambers the cave was named Jiutian. As this is a rather popular legend, there are several caves named a Jiutian, and to separate them the Chinese add the name of the county or region in front of the cave name. That's why this cave is called Yiyuan Jiutian Cave which actually means Jiutian Cave in Yiyuan.