Shanjuan Dong

Shanjuan Cave

Useful Information

Location:	In Luoyang Hill, Zhuling Village, 25 km southwest of Yixing. (31.300841, 119.666758)
Open:	All year daily 7:30-16:30. [2006]
Fee:	Adults CNY 38. [2007]
Classification:	Karst cave Painted Cave
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System Coloured Light
Dimension:	Ar=5,000 m², T=23 °C.
Guided tours:	V=400,000/a [2000]
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Shanjuan Dong, Jiangsu, Wuxi, Yixing 342, Tel: +86-510-8739-1169.
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

Description

Shanjuan dong (Shanjuan Cave - Cave of Hidden Kindness) is named after the Shanjuan. This is a mystical tribe, which is said to have lived in this area between 722 and 481 BC. During spring and autumn they lived in the cave. It is locally known as the oldest historical site south of the Yangtze River.

The cave system has three levels. The two lower levels are developed as a show cave, in the typical chinese way with coloured neon lights. The cave is entered at the middle level. A huge entrance hall, with a floor of about 1,000 m², shows various poems painted on the walls in perfect calligraphy. There are poems by Zhong Liquan and nine other poets of the Tang Dynasty. The characteristic seal characters were made by Tao Hongjing from the Liang Dynasty. The Warm Cave follows, a passage which is 23 °C all year. It features up to seven meters high stalactites.

An 120 m high waterfall, which connects to the river cave below, is namesake for this level: the Waterfall Cave. The the path descends to the lower level and the cave is left by boat. This boat trip is sometimes narrow with a low ceiling, and the exit, which is reached after 120 m, is called Sudden Light. Another part of the cave system follows, called Back Cave.