Xinglong Karst Cave Scenic Area

Xinglong Karst Cave Scenic Area

Xinglong Karst Cave Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Xinglong Karst Cave is located in Taojiatai Village, Beishuiquan Township, Xinglong County, 6 kilometers from the county town. The discovered karst cave area covers over 5,000 square meters,

with 2,700 square meters developed for tourism, and five branch caves also discovered. Xinglong Karst Cave is a large limestone cave, with a development age of 1 to 1.4 billion years, and it is still growing. It is a typical vadose zone cave and an example of slow diffuse flow calcium carbonate deposition. The cave features a full range of calcium carbonate deposits with beautiful landscapes and large formations. It is one of the oldest caves in China. The cave's interior features secondary cave chemical sedimentation landscapes characterized by their natural colors, crystal clarity, intricate beauty, and rarity—resembling flowers and jade—which is why it is named Yan Mountain Crystal Palace. The formation of the cave results from the long-term dissolution of limestone in groundwater in karst regions. The insoluble calcium carbonate in the limestone transforms into slightly soluble calcium bicarbonate under the influence of water and carbon dioxide. Due to varying levels of lime content in different parts of the limestone strata and differing degrees of erosion, the rock gradually dissolves and splits into uniquely shaped, steep, and picturesque peaks and caves. Famous caves such as those in Guilin and Beijing’s Shihua Cave are masterpieces created by the slow erosion of water and carbon dioxide. When water saturated with calcium bicarbonate drips from the cave ceiling to the floor, carbon dioxide escapes due to evaporation, pressure reduction, or temperature changes, causing calcium carbonate to precipitate. Over millions of years, these precipitates accumulate to form stalactites, stalagmites, and more. If water containing calcium bicarbonate drips from the ceiling, the escaping water and carbon dioxide cause the calcium carbonate to accumulate as stalactites, draperies, or cave flowers. When a stalactite and stalagmite meet, they form a unique column. This cave was only discovered by chance when three local villagers hunting in 2003 accidentally wandered into it while chasing prey.

Inside the cave, large areas of reddish-white jade-colored calcium carbonate deposits form stunning jade-like landscapes. There is a 4.35-meter-long stone icicle tube, ranked fourth longest in the world and the longest discovered in China to date. There is also a giant shield formation, 5.53 meters long, 1 to 2.22 meters wide, with a skirt height of 1.3 to 1.55 meters—the largest of its kind in the world. Asia’s longest soda straw and the world’s longest linked shield canopy, stretching 5.5 meters, can be found here. There are vertical, diagonal, and coiled tube columns and helictites. There are also stone icicle balls, less than 1 cm in diameter, hanging from tubes 10 cm wide. Red and white dual-color waterfalls are present. Eight other unique national-level features include a 1-meter-long stone sword resembling a radiant divine blade, a 1.5-meter-diameter vertical shield (known as the “stone mirror”), a 2-meter-diameter disc-shaped stone shield resembling a UFO suspended in midair, an egg-frying-shaped stalagmite, a 15-cm-diameter “eye of the earth” and halo formed by clear water erosion, as well as moonmilk, stone pens, and stone carvings. There are also pale-yellow double-shield pillars around 1 meter tall, along with numerous regional-level features including hooked, large coiled stones, radish-shaped stalactites, pen-shaped stalagmites, cave grapes, and draperies.

To date, 59 types of rich, exquisite, and unique calcium carbonate sediment formations have been identified, including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, flowstones, shields, cave flowers, and helictites, as well as some eroded features like stone discs and natural carvings. The cave is primarily composed of dolomite with siliceous chert nodules and bands—a rare carbonate rock formation in North China. These 59 calcium carbonate formations include stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, flowstones, shields, cave flowers, and helictites, as well as stone discs and natural carvings. The cave boasts over 70 types of features, including stalactites, hanging tubes, stone pens, and stalagmites. These slowly dripping formations display a stunning variety of shapes and grand structures. Compared to other famous caves nationwide, Xinglong Karst Cave is relatively small in size, but its density and richness of features rank among the highest in China and are rare even globally. Experts from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Landscape Geoscience Research and Consulting Center have confirmed this through on-site investigations.

World-class features include eight sites: jade landscapes, hanging tubes, giant shield bodies, tube columns, icicle balls, jade coral, and dual-color waterfalls.

National-level features include eight sites: stone swords, moonmilk, vertical mirrors, flying saucers, fried eggs, stone pens, eye of the earth formations, and stone carvings.

Regional-level features include several sites: double-shield pillars, coiled stones, radish-shaped stalactites, and pen-shaped stalagmites.

World’s fourth longest hanging tube: 5.53 meters long, 1 to 2.22 meters wide.

World’s largest giant shield body: 1.3 to 1.55 meters high.

World’s longest linked shield canopy: 5.5 meters long.