Yellow Dragon Cave 黄龙洞

About Yellow Dragon Cave

Survey work has mapped a cave floor of about 100,000 square metres with a vertical range of some 140 metres. The system is divided into dry and water caves arranged on four levels, in limestone karst of a kind common in this part of Hunan. What visitors see is a succession of high chambers, a deep underground river and dense stands of stalagmites, together with stalactites, columns, flowstone curtains and other calcite forms that are picked out by installed lighting. Among the named sections are the Migong, or labyrinth, and the Xiangshui River.

The best known single formation is the Dinghai Shenzhen, a stalactite column standing about twenty metres high and thick at both ends but narrowing to only ten centimetres across at its waist; the scenic area estimates its growth at some two hundred thousand years and carries insurance of one hundred million yuan on it. The visitor route mixes walking with a boat passage along the underground river and passes an underground waterfall; it does not double back, so the exit lies away from the entrance. The cave is listed as a national AAAA-grade tourist area.

What to look for

• The Dinghai Shenzhen, a stalactite column about 20 m high that narrows to 10 cm at its waist
• The underground river reached partway through the route, crossed by boat
• The waterfall inside the cave, met after the boat section
• The Migong, or labyrinth, one of the cave's named sections
• The stalagmite stands, flowstone columns and curtains lit along the four levels of dry and flooded passage

Location & getting there

Getting to Yellow Dragon Cave

Use an authorised visitor route. Cave sections, geological sites and access roads can close independently, so confirm the area that your ticket covers.

• Search for 黄龙洞 with 张家界市 and 武陵源区.