Longyou Grottoes

Longyou Grottoes

The Longyou Grottoes are a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Longyou Grottoes are the first national AAAA-level tourist attraction in Quzhou City. Located at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, three kilometers north of the county town, they are a magnificent, spectacular, and world-rare ancient underground man-made architectural complex, hailed as the “Ninth Wonder of the World.” According to preliminary expert assessments, the latest possible date for the excavation of the Longyou Grottoes is no later than the Western Han Dynasty. The Longyou Grottoes not only hold high research value across multiple disciplines such as sociology, history, archaeology, ancient architecture, engineering geology, and rock mechanics, but also possess significant educational, cultural heritage conservation, and tourism development value.

The Longyou Grottoes were discovered in June 1992. Surveys revealed that 36 caves of varying sizes are distributed across a 0.38-square-kilometer earthen mound. The caves range from 1,000 to 3,000 square meters in area. Each cave extends vertically downward from a rectangular entrance, reaching a height of about 30 meters, with an inverted funnel-shaped ceiling. Inside the caves, three to four massive “fish-tail-shaped” stone pillars are scientifically positioned, blending seamlessly with the cave roof. The cave walls, ceilings, and pillars all feature evenly spaced chisel marks that appear to have been made with decorative intent by ancient workers. The temperature inside the caves remains a constant 18 degrees Celsius year-round, while outside, the scenery is complemented by green mountains, clear waters, bamboo forests, and ancient trees.

The Longyou Grottoes have drawn attention from both the public and academic circles worldwide due to a series of questions regarding their historical background, scale, purpose, and the underground engineering techniques employed. Experts have proposed various theories, including that they were ancient quarries, royal tombs from the Spring and Autumn period, military bases of the Yue Kingdom, evidence of extraterrestrial civilization, Han Dynasty storage facilities, or Daoist blessed lands. However, none of these theories have been fully convincing or able to provide a definitive explanation. As a result, the mystery of the Longyou Grottoes remains unresolved, shrouded in numerous enigmas and continuing to captivate visitors from around the globe. The Longyou Grottoes are a national key cultural relics protection unit and have been successively recognized as a China Cultural Tourism Boutique Scenic Spot, one of Zhejiang’s Fifty Most Worth-Visiting Scenic Spots, one of Zhejiang’s Ten Most Beautiful Summer Sceneries, and one of the Most Dynamic Scenic Areas.