Dragon Palace Cave

In the western suburbs of Anshun in Guizhou Province, there exists a magnificent underground cave system with lakes, waterfalls and stalactites, covering an area almost 60 square kilometers (about 23 square miles). Because the main cave looks like the crystal palace where the dragon king lives, it is known as Dragon Palace Cave.

The scenic spot has four main areas, namely, the Rape Lake, the Whirlpool, the Leech Pass and the Dragon Palace itself. Among them, as the most famous and wonderful scenic spot, the Dragon Palace includes various Karst (Limestone) landscapes, solemn steep cliffs and jagged stone forest. The longest underground river in China, some 5,000 meters (over 5468 yards) in length flows beneath more than 30 hills connecting over 90 limestone caves within this scenic spot.

The Dragon Palace can be divided into five groups of limestone caves connected by the underground river. The depth of the river can reach to 28 meters (about 15 fathoms) and the width can expand to over 30 meters (about 32 yards). Therefore, it is a fascinating adventure for visitors to float past the magnificent and ever changing views as you journey deeper into the cave by boat.

Besides the gate of the Dragon Palace, a waterfall pours straight down along the Dragon Palace from Tianchi Lake. The waterfall is 34 meters (over 37 yards) high and 25 meters (over 27 yards) wide and described as a white dragon leaving its cave by the locals, namely, the Dragon Gate Fall. This spectacular waterfall is considered one of the three natural wonders in the Dragon Palace by both geologists and tourists alike.

As a region inhabited by the Bouyei ethnic group in compact communities, the trip to the Dragon Palace is also a good chance for visitors to experience the charming and colorful life of this Chinese ethnic minority. At the same time, it is a comfortable place for people to relax because the radiation frequency in this region is the lowest in China.