龙缸天坑

Longgang Tiankeng

Useful Information

Location:	Yunyang Longgang Scenic Area, Yunyang County, Chongqing. (30.670344, 109.003737)
Open:	Summer daily 8:30-18:30, last entry 16. Winter daily 8:30-17:30, last entry 15. [2022]
Fee:	Adults CNY 100, Children (7-18) CNY 50, Children (0-6) free, Children (<1.2 m) free, Students CNY 50, Seniors (60-65) CNY 50, Seniors (66+) free. [2022]
Classification:	Tiankeng Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=326 m, W=183 m, VR=335 m. Longdong: Portal: W=40 m, H=50 m, L=200 m, Ar=4800 m².
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Longgang Tiankeng, Longgang Scenic Spot, Qingshui Tujia Township, Yunyang County, Chongqing City, Tel: +86-23-5533-3111.
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

1990s	Yueya Cave explored and excavated for the first time.
2015	viewing platform built.
25-FEB-2017	classified as an AAAAA-class tourist site.

Description

龙缸天坑 (Lóng gāng tiān kēng, Longgang Tiankeng, Dragon Vat Tiankeng) is an oval shaped tiankeng with steep limestone walls. The bottom has a forest with evergreen trees and birds. The site is actually like one of those ancient chinese paintings showing vertical cliff faces and warriors and temples sitting on the towers. The tiankeng has vertical walls dropping about 200 m and the outside is also steep, so at several points the rim is forming a narrow ridge, just wide enough for a wooden trail with red flags. Very chinese indeed. Even the legends fit this romantic image of China, the name means Dragon Vat Tiankeng and it was named after a legend about a woodman who fell in love with the daughter of the dragon. The modern reality is different, roads have been built right up to the outside of the tiankeng, cable cars bring visitors up from the valleys, viewing platforms offer vantage points, terrace cafés and even those glass-bottomed outlooks, which are as popular as they are annoying. There is even a new show cave named Da'an Cave at the other end of the ridge. All those sights are part of the Yunyang Longgang Scenic Area which is also called Longgang National Geopark.

The trail along the ridge on the western side of the tiankeng continues to the north and is attached to the vertical wall and partly has a glass floor. 100 m from the northern end of the tiankeng it goes through a natural cave which is big enough to walk through. The south entrance is 3.9 m high and 3.4 m wide, the north entrance is 2.4 m high. The cave is called 映月洞 (Yìng yuè dòng, Moon Cave) because every year on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, shortly after the moon rises from the east, the moonlight shines through the cave.

On the opposite of this deep valley, also accessible by such a trail is the 龙洞 (Longdong, Dragon Cave). The huge cave opening is 40 m wide and nearly 50 m high, the entrance chamber is 200 m long and has 4800 m². There is also a second hall behind with speleothems. It is shaped like a pentagon and has a diameter of 300 m and a height of 30 m.