With over half a month to go before the opening of the "2015 China Guizhou · Zhijindong International Karst Cave Culture Festival," the host site, Zhijindong Cave, is already heating up. The consistently high popularity and growing number of visitors are all drawn by the cave’s science-themed tours. Especially university students, taking advantage of the three-day Victory Day holiday, are making group trips, and Zhijindong Cave has become their top destination.
It is understood that this karst cave culture festival will revolve around the theme of "The Charming Zhijindong Cave · The Soul of Guizhou Plateau," launching more than 10 series of activities successively. These will comprehensively and multi-dimensionally showcase the image of Zhijindong Cave as the most beautiful geopark and the achievements in its bid to become a UNESCO Global Geopark, further enhancing the visibility and influence of the "Blessed Land of Caves · Beautiful Zhijin" tourism brand.
Among them, a highlight of this karst cave culture festival — the "Zhijindong Cave Geological Science Education on Campus" program tailored for university faculty and students — has garnered widespread attention and discussion even before it begins.
"At first, we were worried that people might not be very interested in science-themed activities. In fact, there are just too few similar events, and that's something we plan to do more of in the future." According to organizers of the "Zhijindong Cave Geological Science Education on Campus" program, the initiative aims to enrich the cultural significance of Zhijindong Cave, encouraging more people to visit, learn about, understand, and ultimately promote the cave. It also seeks to introduce in greater depth the knowledge related to Guizhou’s karst landforms, as well as what other appealing resource advantages Guizhou, as a province rich in parks, holds beyond its scenic landscapes.
To this end, before the launch of the event, the organizing committee conducted a questionnaire survey across the province, aiming to gauge whether teachers and students are interested in geological science knowledge and how they prefer to participate in or learn about it.
Nearly 10,000 questionnaires were distributed to universities across Guizhou. The results showed that over 85% of students expressed a strong interest in geological science knowledge. When asked which method they preferred for learning about it — lectures, travel, reading, or exhibitions — 77% of respondents unhesitatingly chose traveling, opting to gain new knowledge through science-themed tours.
"In addition to our surprise at the strong desire for geological science tours, we were also pleased to find that Zhijindong Cave ranks first among China’s most beautiful tourist caves, showing it truly lives up to expectations," the organizer revealed. The questionnaire also surveyed topics such as Guizhou’s national geoparks and the "Most Beautiful Tourist Caves in China." Results showed that Zhijindong Cave enjoys high recognition. Not only is it the most familiar national geopark in Guizhou among students and teachers, but when voting for the "most beautiful" nationwide, it surpassed Hunyuan Cave in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, and Colorful Furong Cave in Wulong, Chongqing, becoming the favorite among respondents.
Because of their fondness for the cave, the participating teachers and students also expressed a strong desire to join the large-scale science tour of Zhijindong Cave. They look forward to experiencing the accumulation of time and the unique charm of the land through travel and discovery.
It is reported that the "Zhijindong Cave Geological Science Education on Campus" program will consist of two parts: knowledge lectures and cave tours. The science lectures are scheduled to be held from September 14 to September 18 in multimedia classrooms at various universities. During these sessions, professional geological experts will be invited to share knowledge about geology, and hundreds of free combo tickets for Zhijindong Cave Scenic Area, Zhijindong Grand Canyon, and the direct bus from Guiyang to Zhijindong Cave will be given away on-site, offering free opportunities to explore Zhijindong.