水连东

Shui Lian Dong - Water Lotus Cave - Water Curtain Cave


Useful Information

Location: Near Liang Wu.
11 km west of Lichuan. Reached from Liang Wu by boat, 2.5 km down the river.
(27.6287429, 99.5240919)
Open:  
Fee:  
Classification: SpeleologyKarst Cave SpeleologyRiver cave
Light: LightIncandescent
Dimension:  
Guided tours: D=90 min.
Photography:  
Accessibility:  
Bibliography:  
Address: Shui Lian Dong, Yunnan.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History


Description

水连东 (Shui Lian Dong, Cave Beside the Waterfall) is a river cave, which is visited using shallow metal boats. They are propelled by the guide and coxswain with a long pole, similar to gondoliers in Venice.

This cave was opened to the public some years ago, with a restaurant and guest house nearby. It is of impressive size and the spring has an enormous production. On the other hand the cave was considered grey and dull by western tourists and the show cave is described as being poorly maintained.

This cave is a resurgence of a tributary of the Yangtze river. Located about 50 m above the road, the water tumbles out to form a 10 m high waterfall. Then the icy cold and crystal clear water thunders through a tiny culvert.

There are various caves in China with the same name, so it is a bit hard not to mix them up. We know of two others, one halfway up Moxing Peak near Guangzhou (Canton) in the Province of Guangdong, and one in Furong Gorge, near Jiang Kou in Sichuan Province. Those two caves are not show caves. The name is also commonly used in computer games and mangas, generally without reference to a real cave.