Penglai Fairy Cave

Penglai Fairy Cave

Penglai Fairy Cave is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Penglai Fairy Cave is a national AAAA-level scenic area, located on Qianshan Mountain in Ducun, about 6 kilometers east of Shitai County, within the territory of Renli Town — the hometown of the renowned late Tang Dynasty poet Du Xunhe. The Penglai Fairy Cave Scenic Area is a national 4A-level attraction, one of the first batch of provincial-level scenic spots in Anhui Province, and among the province’s first group of geological parks. Shitai County has long been known as the "Hometown of Caves," with over a hundred named caves recorded in local chronicles. It can be said that, to date, Penglai Fairy Cave stands as the finest representative among all discovered cave landscapes.

As the centerpiece of the Penglai Fairy Cave Scenic Area, Penglai Fairy Cave is distinguished by its massive scale, rich layering, and uniquely picturesque features. In terms of the developed and open sections, the cave stretches over 3,000 meters in length — nearly seven li. The cavern extends in a deer-antler-like formation towards the west, south, and east, meandering and crawling through limestone layers to form a four-tiered structure: the Sky Cave, Middle Cave, Earth Cave, and Underground River. The explorable area inside the cave spans over 20,000 square meters. Based on its natural formations, the cave has been divided into ten scenic spots: the Reception Hall, Sea-Exploring Corridor, Dragon Palace of the East Sea, Tongming Palace, Lost Immortal Palace, Jade Toad Palace, Milky Way Corridor, Yaochi (Jade Lake), South Sea, Chao Yin Hall, and Guest-Greeting Hall. Each spot boasts its own highlight — such as the “Falling Golden Bell” in the Sea-Exploring Corridor, the “Heavenly Palace” in Tongming Palace, the “Stone Flowers” at the entrance of Jade Toad Palace, and the “Galloping Heavenly Horse” in the Milky Way Corridor. Yet among the nearly one hundred large and small attractions, the most celebrated by visitors are the “Four Wonders of Penglai”: landscape relief carvings, the Gauze Curtain, Thousand Buddha Mountain, and Heavenly Threads (also known as the Fairy Scattering Flowers).

These “Four Wonders” are located successively at the entrance of the Lost Immortal Palace near the front of Tongming Palace, at Yaochi, and in the South Sea. The first wonder, “Landscape Relief Carvings,” also called the “Natural Mural,” is a massive karst dissolution formation featuring structures resembling pavilions, towers, and layered mountains surrounded by rippling waters, undulating as if meticulously hand-carved, which never ceases to amaze. The second wonder is the “Gauze Curtain.” This massive, translucent crystal formed from high-purity calcium carbonate hangs sheer from the cave ceiling down to the floor, resembling a curtain. Its snow-white, crystal-clear appearance gives it the name “Gauze Curtain.” In geological terms, such high-purity calcium carbonate crystals are known as “shield stalactites.” Similar formations may be found in other caves, but a crystal of this size is believed — based on current knowledge — to be unique in China and the only one in East China. The third and fourth wonders, “Thousand Buddha Mountain” and “Heavenly Threads,” are both located within the South Sea area. Thousand Buddha Mountain is a cave mountain naturally built from countless yellowish-brown, lotus-petal-shaped stalactites, standing approximately 20 meters tall and spanning around 50 meters in circumference — majestic and spectacular. The fourth wonder, “Heavenly Threads,” also called the “Fairy Scattering Flowers,” consists of countless transparent, glass-tube-like crystals hanging from the dome of the cave’s southwestern South Sea area. Shimmering brilliantly, they resemble a sudden downpour frozen mid-air by some divine force, prompting visitors to name them “Heavenly Threads.” Some also refer to them as the “Fairy Scattering Flowers,” imagining that these dense, tube-shaped calcium carbonate crystals are flower petals scattered by a heavenly maiden. In a way, the discovery of the Four Wonders was pivotal in transforming Penglai Fairy Cave from a mere sightseeing spot into a thriving tourism attraction.

Penglai Fairy Cave is a historically famous cave in Shitai County. Both the 1604 (32nd year of the Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty) and 1675 (14th year of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty) editions of the Shidai County Annals contain specific records about it. In the 1604 edition, Penglai Fairy Cave is referred to as the “First Cave of Penglai”: “Upon entering, its vastness can accommodate hundreds of people. Inside, there are the ‘Jicui Platform,’ ‘Lotus Pillar,’ ‘Canopy Rock,’ and ‘Sunset Radiance,’ all ablaze with colorful splendor and interspersed with lush green and blue hues — indescribably marvelous.” The same annals also include a poem about Penglai Cave by Shen Maoxue of the time: “Heaven opens a jade cave, inviting inscriptions; this place, a peach blossom road, leads not astray. A thousand-layered mist floats under the blue sky; a hundred winding stone steps connect to the crimson ladder. At dawn, one sees the true qi of twin dragons merging; at dusk, the immortal terrace appears with all things bowed low. One day, the mountain spirit will not fail me; I shall dwell here in seclusion with you.” However, compared to the actual depth of today’s developed and open areas, the content described in the historical records — including the poetry — was limited to the sights within the Earth Cave of Penglai Fairy Cave. What truly brought Penglai Fairy Cave “fame across the land” and elevated it to a significant part of the county’s economic development, especially in tourism, was the discovery of the Sky Cave — and more importantly, the discovery of the “Four Wonders” — which truly ushered in a new chapter in the history of Penglai Fairy Cave.