GeneralIntroductionYellowDragonCaveismorebeautifulofcavesisatypicalkarstformation,andyouknowthatwaterplaysanextremelyimportantroleinitsdevelopment.Flowingintothefissuresofthekarstlayer,waterconstantlydissolvesthelimestonerock,therebywideningthecrevice.Thisprocesscontinuesyearafteryearandthusthecavesarecreated.TheYellowDragonCavesystemcoversaprovenareathantheoutsideworld.
"Dayornight,withoutfearofrainorwind,allyearlong,youcandelightinitswonderfulscenery.Thecaveisofgoodbeneficialaircirculation,andiscoolinthesummerandwarminthewinter.
YellowDragonCaveisoneoftheforemostscenicareasinZhangjiajie,andwasratedasoneofthefirst4ANationalTouristAttractionsinChina.Alsoithasbeenhonoredas"magicalkarstcavebothinChinaandintheworld".
Thissystem48hectares.Itis15kilometerslongandhasaverticalriseof140meters.Thein-nerrecessisdividedintofourlayers,twodryonesandtwopossessingwaterways.Thetallyofnaturalwondersincludes:onenaturalreservoir,2undergroundrivers,3pools,4waterfalls,13grandhalls,96passagewaysandhundredsofthousandsofstalagmites,columnsandstalactites.TheYellowDragonCaveissocomplexandunfathomable,possessingsuchamultitudeofgeologicalfeatures,thatit''simpossibleforustotakethemallinatonetime.This"magicalplace"aboundswithallthesceneriesthatwecanenjoyinthekarstcavesandthestalagmitesareinalldifferentshapes.Manyfamousscenicspotshavebeendeveloped:theDragonDanceHall,SoundingRiver,ImmortalWaterfall,HeavenPillarStreet,andtheDragonPalace.Exceptforashortdistanceneartheentrance,wewon''thavetodoanybacktrackinginthecave.Theentiretourtakesabouttwohours--2400metersbylandandanadditional800metersbywater.ChattingIntheeyesofthelocalsofZhangjiajie,YellowDragonCaveisalwaysa"mysteriousplace".ThewaterwaywithinthecaveiscalledYellowDragonSpringanditkeepsflowingyeararound.Itissaidthatlong,longagothisregionsufferedaseveredrought,soawizardnamedHeJunru,accompaniedbyhisdisciples,enteredthecaveandbeseechedthedragontosendwater.Thedragonkingwastouchedbytheirpleaandreleasedseveraldropsofwaterfromhismouth,andthisproducedadelugeoutsidethecave.Atthatmoment,thewizardwasunawareoftherefreshingrainout-side;instead,heassumedthatthedragonkinghadsomehowreject-edhisappeal.Unfortunately,hestabbedthedragonwithhisknife.Thebeastbecameenragedbythisfoolishresponseandspewedoutatorrentofwater.Inashortwhilethefloodinundatedthewholeregion,bothinsideandoutsidethecave.Thewizardwasseriouslyinjuredandescaped,andallofhisfellowvillagerswerewashedaway.Ofcourse,hedeeplyregrettedhisblunder,andengravedafewlinesofwarningonhisdeathbedattheentrancetothecavesothatpeoplewouldnotfurtheroffendthedragon:"YoumustneverfetchwaterfromYellowDragonCave,evenifyouaresufferingdesperatelyfromaseveredrought.
Itisjustastoryanyhow.Buthowwasthiscaveactuallydiscovered?IntheSpringof1983,MaoJinchu,alocalveteranandmilitarybattalioncommander,ledabouttencompaniesofsoldiersintothecaveforexploration.Aftermanysetbacksandmuchhard-ship,theywerefinallyabletopresenttotheworldthetruefaceofthismysterious"kingdom".Intherecessesofthecave,theyen-counteredswarmsofrats(about2~2.5kilogramseach)andname-lesscreaturespossessingpiercingblueeyesandenormousfeet.Butdon''tbeafraid!Theseterrifying"monsters"havebeendrivenawaylongago.
InFebruaryof1984,thelocalauthoritiesstartedtodevelopthecaveasatouristattraction,andsetuptheAdministrativeDepartmentoftheYellowDragonCaveinJuneofthatyear.Attheendofthatyear,itwasformallyopenedtooutsidetourists.Andsincethattime,this"undergroundpearl"hasemitteditsDazzlinglightandreceivedmoreandmoreattention.Aftertheirfieldinvestigationintothiscavesystem,officialsofUNESCOgavetheselavishwordsofpraise,"YellowDragonCaveisthemostbeautifulcavewe''veeverseen--anywhereintheworld!Anditisespeciallyintriguingthatthereissuchalongriverinside,anditisreallyin-credible."IncludingZhouGuangzhao,thepresidentoftheChineseScienceAcademy,15seniorscientistsproclaimed,"Wehavetraveledaroundtheworldandthiscaveisthelargest,mostcomprehensivecavewe''veseen."Morethan70expertsfromtheMinistryofGeologyhavedrawnasimilarconclusion,"Takingintoconsiderationnearlyallofthestudiesofkarstscaves,YellowDragonCaveistheallroundchampion