During my trip to fascinating Hubei province in central China, I visited Tenglong Cave or 腾龙洞 which means "cave of the soaring dragon". Tenglong Cave was awarded by the China National Geographic magazine in 2005 "the most beautiful place in China" - an accolade well deserved 👏👏👏
Tenglong cave is actually two caves - a "water cave" and a "dry cave".
Tenglong "water cave" is the source of the Qingjiang River.
Qingjiang River runs into Tenglong cave as the "water cave" - an underground stream network 17 km long. Qingjiang River then re-emerges as a modest but pretty 20 metre high waterfall before continuing it's journey down river.
We were here during the rainy season which starts in June. It was wet and the river below was swelling with rumbling, rushing water.
To get to the "dry cave", we crossed the Qingjiang River via a small foot bridge as it emerges from the "water cave".
The "dry cave" is adjacent to the "water cave" - the "water" and "dry" caves run side by side, separated by just a natural limestone wall.
The entrance to the "dry cave" is a massive 75 metres high and 65 metres wide. It's so big, they once flew a helicopter inside 😱
The deep, dark gaping hole simply draws you in, eager to find out what is inside.
Tenglong "dry cave" is the longest karst cave system in the world which runs inside for 60 km. It is huge inside.
It is damp and quite chilly inside the cave with temperatures at around 16-18°C. Remember to bring a jacket for greater comfort. Wear a hat if you are bothered by drops of water dropping on your head occasionally 😄
The cave's limestone walls still bear the marks of the sharp ice that sliced through here during the Ice Age eons ago. Many parts of the cave walls are wet.
Walking about a kilometre deep into the dark cave takes us to a large theatre. Many tourists come here to watch the popular laser show. The cave is packed with people like a bus station at show time.
It is a modern dance performance choreographed with dazzling colourful lasers and loud music blasting from large speaker boxes. Try to make your way to the front as much as possible - otherwise, you will be watching the show through others' handphone screens 😂 (The seats are not tiered.)
Another theatre inside Tenglong Cave stages a variety show featuring Tujia hill tribe 土家族 folk songs and dances.
It's a spectacle of traditional music, dance and beautiful colourful costumes.
I marvel at the natural beautiful of Tenglong Cave and was awed by it's sheer scale. The natural Tenglong Cave is the part I enjoyed the most during my visit to this natural wonder - the reason why Tenglong Cave was awarded "the most beautiful place in China" by China Geographic Magazine in 2005.
Tenglong Cave is highly accessible as it is located just 7 km from Lichuan City in Hubei. When you are visiting Hubei, there is really no excuse to miss Tenglong Cave 😄
✈ AirAsiaX flies direct from Kuala Lumpur to Wuhan via Flight D7 878 every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Departs KLIA2 at 6:00pm and arriving at Wuhan Tienhe International Airport at 11:10pm.
✈ Flight D7 879 flies from Wuhan direct to KL every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday departing Wuhan at 00:25am and arriving in KLIA2 at 05:25am.
Date: 11 Jun 2017
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