Yayue Xian Cave

Yayue Xian Cave

Yayue Xian Cave

Yayue Xian Cave is located 32 kilometers northwest of the county seat, in the northern suburbs of Tianhe Street (1 kilometer from Tianhe Street). It is a natural stone cave, fronting the Xiaolong River, overlooking the river surface with bamboo groves bowing low and peculiar peaks standing upside down. To its left is the “Fishing Village at Dusk,” and to its right is the “Nine-Twist River.” In front lies the “Holy Water Three Tides” (all three sites were among the Eight Scenic Spots of the old Tianhe County). Above the cave entrance are four bold, powerful characters reading “Yayue Xian Cave,” inscribed in the fifth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1825 AD) by Lin Guangdi, the then Magistrate of Tianhe County. The cave consists of two levels, inner and outer. The outer level is spacious and flat, slightly circular in shape, with various imposing rock formations; the inner level is somewhat narrower, featuring stalagmites and stalactites in thousands of exquisite and delicate forms. One visitor, fearing others might not know, inscribed on the cave wall: “A celestial mountain and jade corridor lie inside.” Visitors who saw it sighed, “They say Guilin’s Reed Flute Cave is wonderful, but this cave surpasses even the Reed Flute Cave.”