Dragon-Phoenix Palace

　　Originally named Dragon-Phoenix Underground Palace, also known as the Underground Park. Located within the premises of Shuicheng Iron and Steel Company, it was discovered in 1975 during the construction of a civil air defense project and later opened to the public as a park. The cave stretches 2,800 meters, including an 800-meter water passage, covering a total area of over 20,000 square meters and capable of accommodating more than 100,000 people. The cave is divided into three levels, featuring both aquatic and terrestrial sections. The water-based section is called the Dragon Palace, and the land-based section is the Phoenix Palace. There is a scenic spot known as “Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity,” which is how the cave got its name. Outside the cave, lush trees abound, and the entrance is covered with greenery. At the mouth of the cave, there is a 120-meter-long circular stone corridor. At the end of the corridor, the path splits into two forks: the left fork is an ancient underground river that has dried up, stretching about one kilometer and leading straight to the western part of the factory; the right fork leads to both ends of the northern and southern parts of the factory and constitutes the first level of the cave. The karst landscape includes features such as the “Guanyin Pavilion,” where clusters of stalactites hang like thousands of lotus flowers, with “Guanyin” seated on a lotus throne. There is also a tall karst rock sculpture of the “Tathagata Buddha,” smiling gently. Proceeding along a 44-step stone path, you reach the “Sky-Facing Cave” and the “Thunder God Cave.” The cave ceiling is arched, the walls enclosed, with golden stalagmites standing like forests and jade-like rocks growing in clusters. Stalactite drips resemble a naturally formed garden or sudden heavenly rain. Ascending hundreds of meters spirally along the cave walls, you pass through the “Heavenly Cave,” where the stalactites are dazzling—like pearls, agates, or corals. There is a “Jade Bead Pavilion” built atop stalactites on the cave ceiling, from which droplets of water fall slowly, glistening like beads. Next are adjacent cave chambers: the “Welcome Hall,” resembling a grand reception hall of about a hundred square meters, with karst deposits arranged like luxurious furnishings. On the left wall of the hall, natural stone carvings depict scenes such as “Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity,” “A Crouching Tiger’s Roar,” and “An Eagle Soaring in the Sky.” The “Coral Palace” features inverted stalactites, as if a celestial curtain has been drawn, with stalactites on the top and walls resembling a “roc spreading its wings.” To the lower right, a stone door opens to reveal floors and walls covered in hardened lava, resembling coral. In the “Fairy’s Boudoir Embroidery Chamber,” concentric stone discs resemble lotus flowers or clusters of mushrooms, like the embroidery frames of celestial maidens. The “Colorful Curtain Palace” is adorned with hanging stone waterfalls that look like silk drapes. Then comes the “Hundred-Step Bridge,” consisting of over a hundred stone steps winding along, connecting to the cave corridor known as the “Earth-Bridge Cave Heaven.” On the corridor walls, there is a row of caves of varying sizes. In one small cave, a stone “zither” lies horizontally, producing a jingling sound when lightly tapped. Further ahead is the “Do Not Worry” area, where the cave passage narrows, seemingly leading to a dead end, until the tunnel suddenly turns and descends steeply down 118 steps, as if falling from heaven to the underworld. The passage then flattens out, continuing through a 150-meter-long corridor cave. At the end of the corridor is an underground river called the Sword-Tooth River. In 1975, a pair of fossilized swords-tooth elephants from the Cenozoic era were excavated here. The river is 800 meters long, 5 meters deep, and over 10 meters wide, with crystal-clear, mirror-like water that twists and turns, allowing for boat rides. Parallel to the river, a boardwalk has been constructed along the cave walls, offering views of the spectacular karst formations along the water's edge. Within the cave is the largest chamber, named the “Music Hall,” which is 41 meters wide, 50 meters high, and 80 meters long. The floor is paved with terrazzo, smooth and flat, and the air is fresh. It can be used for movie screenings or dances and accommodates up to a thousand people. On the right side of the hall’s entrance stands a several-meter-tall natural stone lion, sitting upright and facing forward, like a guardian of the hall, named the “Male Lion Guarding the Gate.” Opposite the entrance is a several-meter-tall tower-like stalagmite that resembles a pile of grain, called the “Harvest Tower.” Adjacent to this is a side chamber, in the center of which stands a large stone tree with a trunk thick enough for two people to hug and branches spreading out like an umbrella. Nearby, beneath a stone bridge, an underground river flows, sending up showers of sparkling water with a loud roar, its depth unfathomable, named the “Nine-Dragon Pool.” Further along, climb the Coiling Dragon Embracing Heaven Staircase, spiraling up to the third level of the cave, 30 meters long. In this section, karst formations create landscapes resembling mountains and rivers. Descend via a slope to the second level, which is the cave exit. This cave has been listed as one of the scenic highlights of Guizhou.