妖风洞

Daqikong - Seven Big Holes - Yaofeng Cave - Demon Wind Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Daqikong Scenic Area, Libo County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou 558402. 30 kilometers south of Libo County, Guizhou Province. (25.283645, 107.751905)
Open:	All year daily 7:30-17. [2022]
Fee:	free. [2022]
Classification:	Gorge Natural Bridge Karst cave Karst Spring
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	Tiansheng Bridge: H=60 m, W=20 m, L=10 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, L=5 km, D=2 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Daqikong Scenic Area, Libo County, Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou 558402, Tel: +86-854-356-1256.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1850	Daqikong bridge built.
1877	bridge rebuilt after flood and renamed Shuangxi Bridge.

Description

荔波大七孔 (Lì bō dà qī kǒng, Libo Daqikong) is a scenic spot, in this case a valley with numerous karst features including a cave. The parking lot and visitor center is located at the spectacular horseshoe bend of the 樟江 (Zhangjiang) River. The tributary is called 打狗河 (Dǎ gǒu hé, Hit The Dog River) or 孟塘河 (Mèng táng hé, Mengtang River) after the village Mengtang. At the village the tributary meets the Zhangjiang river, and in the 20th year of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty the Daqikong Bridge was built across the tributary to allow travel along the main river. The bridge soon became known as 大七孔 (Dà qī kǒng, Seven Big Holes) as it has seven vaults or openings, hence the name. Today the whole valley and even the river are named Daqikong. The bridge is a Historical Monument and not used any more, today the road is crossed on a modern concrete bridge, but it was also built with seven vaults as a reference to the historic bridge.

The trail runs along the river which is like a park with several bridges and a huge natural bridge named 天生桥 (Tiānshēngqiáo, Tiansheng Bridge, Pregnant Sky Bridge). After crossing through the natural bridge it's easy to see that this gorge is the collapsed part of a former cave with steep limestone walls. The trail is elevated and fixed at the vertical limestone wall high above the river, it's called 大七孔-栈道 (dà qī kǒng-zhàndào, Daqikong-Plank Road). This fits, as it is mostly made of wood. At the end the resurgence of the river, the 大七孔妖风洞口 (Dà qī kǒng yāofēng dòngkǒu, Daqikong Daqikong) is reached.

妖风洞 (Yāo fēng dòng, Yaofeng Dong, Demon Wind Cave) is located at the end of a valley which is full of karst features. The cave is entered on boats, the entrance hall is filled by a calm lake. The rest of the cave is not accessible, there are several sumps. The cave river is swallowed by the cave about 1.8 km to the north and flows underground through the hill. A huge doline about 350 m north of the entrance offers a spectacular view and is part of the reserve, but is currently not open to the public. It seems they plan to open it in the future.

The tributary is about 2.5 km long, so the walk along the river to the cave at the end is more than 2 km. The full hike is about 5 km and requires probably 2 hours, depending on your walking speed. There is a jetty, and it's possible to make boat trips, but only on the dammed lower part of the river. So it makes actually no sense to take the boat, except if you are fond of boat trips.