Benxi Water Cave 本溪水洞

About Benxi Water Cave

The entrance chamber opens towards passages where stalactites, stalagmites and columns cluster along natural fractures. The underground river bends through a much larger space than the initial entrance suggests, while the dry cave includes a modern prehistoric-life presentation. A visit should distinguish the natural formations from that added interpretation and follow the cave's managed sequence rather than expecting unrestricted underground exploration.

The cave lies beside the Taizi River (太子河) in the mountains east of Benxi, and is estimated to have formed over hundreds of thousands of years. From 1960 Chinese government departments organized repeated expert surveys of the cave, and in 1996 and 1997 its management authority worked with the Institute of Karst Geology of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (中国地质科学院岩溶地质研究所), Changchun University of Science and Technology (长春科技大学), the Institute of Geology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院地质研究所) and a diving team from the French caving federation on multidisciplinary research and diving exploration.

In July 2015 the site was rated a national 5A tourist attraction (国家5A级旅游景区) and passed ISO9002 quality certification. The cave now forms the core of a wider scenic area that also includes hot springs and the Miaohou Mountain (庙后山), Guanmen Mountain (关门山), Tanggou (汤沟) and Tiecha Mountain (铁刹山) sites.

What to look for

• The water-cave formations and their reflections along the underground river.
• The dry-cave passages, with natural rock forms and a separate prehistoric-life presentation.

The surrounding area

Inland provincial base region for cave and hill landscapes beyond the urban centre.

Location & getting there

Getting to Benxi Water Cave

Go to Xiejiawaizi Village in Xiaoshi Town, Benxi Manchu Autonomous County. Confirm the day's water-cave boarding and dry-cave route at the visitor entrance.