Wanxiang Cave

　　Located halfway up the mountainside of Yangpeng Village on the southern bank of the Bailong River, 15 kilometers west of Wudu County, Wanxiang Cave is named for its labyrinth of chambers, abundant stalactites and stalagmites in dazzling variety, resembling a heavenly palace that encompasses all wonders.

　　　　Originally called Immortal Cave or Five Immortals Cave, legend has it that the cave was named after five immortals who once meditated here. Formed tens of millions to three hundred million years ago, Wanxiang Cave is a classic karst landform. Its unfathomable depths make it the largest developed underground natural art palace in China. The cave features a breathtaking array of natural formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone curtains, and flowstones. The 11 developed scenic areas contain over 120 major attractions, categorized by their shapes into three grand cave chambers: Moon Palace, Heavenly Palace, and Dragon Palace. As you walk through the cave, the ever-changing scenery makes you feel as if you’ve entered a fairyland. Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the present, inscriptions and stone tablets left by notable figures throughout history can be found everywhere, totaling over a hundred pieces, along with 768 poems and inscriptions. Among them, the inscription “A World Apart” by Gao Heyan, the Qing Dynasty inspector of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai provinces, and the name “Wanxiang Cave” written by Zhao Puchu are the most eye-catching. A mountain road connects Wudu County to the cave entrance.　

　　　At an elevation of 1,150 meters, Wanxiang Cave stands 190 meters above the Bailong River. Yet the interior remains damp and smooth, with small streams trickling through, their murmuring sounds never ceasing. Perhaps due to the cave being connected at both ends, the air inside is abundant and the temperature remains a constant 14°C year-round, making it an ideal destination for tourism and summer retreat. According to geological experts, the cave has a history of 250 million years, making it the largest and most spectacular cave in northern China, and is hailed as the “No. 1 Cave of North China.” It earns its name from its endless network of chambers, abundant stalactites and stalagmites in diverse and striking formations, resembling a heavenly palace that encompasses all wonders.

　　Historical Background

　　　　Also known as Immortal Cave or Five Immortals Cave, legend says five immortals once meditated here. It is a typical karst (cave) landform. The cave is unfathomably deep, with a complex and winding interior. Some passages are less than one meter high and wide, only allowing one person to crawl through, while others are vast and spacious, stretching hundreds of meters in all directions. Covering approximately 360,000 square meters, the cave is filled with stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone curtains, and flowstones. Currently, three major scenic areas have been developed: Moon Palace, Dragon Palace, and Heavenly Palace.

　　Major Attractions

　　　　The cave entrance is shaped like the vault of heaven. Above it are inscriptions in large characters by Gao Heyan, the Qing Dynasty inspector of Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai, reading “A World Apart,” and by Zhao Puchu, reading “Wanxiang Cave.” Upon entering, you’ll find a grand, spacious hall—the first scenic area, Moon Palace. At the entrance lies a massive rock shaped like a reclining beast, gazing toward a light-transmitting stone hole resembling a full moon, as if “a rhinoceros gazing at the moon,” or scrutinizing visitors coming and going. The stalactites here are bizarrely shaped, shining brilliantly—some like the rising sun, some like the morning moon, some like rosy clouds, and some like immortal herbs… Everywhere you look, there are treasures, seas of flowers, fruit-covered mountains, rare birds and beasts, and abundant crops—a true spectacle of all things in nature, hence the name “Ever-Renewing Wonders.” Moving forward, beautiful scenes unfold endlessly. A stone curtain, about 10 meters long and 2.8 meters wide, hangs from the ceiling, composed of countless stone drapes, named “Stone Curtain Hanging Down.” When struck forcefully, it produces a thunderous roar. Five stone pillars, carved like white jade, stand tall and straight, reaching toward the sky, known as “Five Sacred Mountains Facing Heaven.” There are also stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling and stalagmites growing from the ground, meeting vertically with less than 0.3 meters between them, named “Heaven and Earth in Harmony,” commonly called “Heaven Needle and Earth Needle.”
　　Passing through a smooth corridor where the ground resembles being paved with cloud slices (known as “Crouching Dragon Dam”), you’ll arrive at the second scenic area—Dragon Palace. On the dam, two dragons lie coiled, their scales shimmering as if ready to take flight at a touch. Beyond the “Horse-Sliding Trough” lies “Yellow Dragon Shoal,” featuring an immortal’s “Elixir Refining Well,” unfathomably deep. There is a “Immortal’s Bed,” with an “Immortal’s Pillow” at the head, an “Immortal’s Lamp” on the wall, and “Immortal’s Shoes” beneath the bed. In a corner of the inner wall, there is a small passage less than one meter high and about 1.7 meters deep, which visitors must crawl through—it is the narrowest part of the entire cave. Due to the cool breeze, it is called “Wind Cave.”
　　Beyond the Wind Cave, you enter the Heavenly Palace. Passing through one gate after another, traversing countless jade-like steps and grand pavilions with carved pillars and stones, beautiful scenes continue to unfold. Here, you can cast off all constraints and let your imagination soar freely: say the word “mountain,” and various-shaped mountains appear; say “water,” and rushing seas and flowing rivers emerge; say “tree,” and trees appear, with birds flying among them; say “bridge,” and bridges appear, with people walking across them.
　　Judging from the inscriptions left by visitors inside the cave, Wanxiang Cave has attracted tourists for over 1,000 years. To this day, the cave still houses over 100 stone tablets from the Northern Zhou, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, along with more than 768 poems and inscriptions, all praising the cave’s wonders. Among them, the poem “Wanxiang Immortal Cave” by Jia Ting? of Wudu from the Qing Dynasty is the most representative. In his poem, he praises: “Not of this mortal world, but a heaven encompassing all. Since when did the Crouching Dragon arise? How long have the jade pillars hung? Who carved the primordial void? Leaving only the smoke of the alchemy furnace? The cave is deep, yet the moss is not slippery—where can one meet an immortal?”
　　By the time visitors finish exploring, they will have walked 4.5 kilometers and seen 11 scenic areas and over 120 attractions—just half of Wanxiang Cave. No one knows how long the cave truly is, as no one has yet reached its end. Legend has it that adventurous travelers once carried food and luggage, stayed overnight on the Immortal’s Bed, then climbed the “Heavenly Ladder,” crossed the “Dangerous Path,” and ventured another 5 kilometers to explore all the caves and admire all the scenic beauty. At the single-plank bridge, they could hear the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs from Wen County. Hence, locals say, “Wanxiang Cave is as vast as an entire mountain.”