Huanglong Cave

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Huanglong Cave is situated under the cliff at the north side of Huanglong Mountain. The mountain was once named “Jin Jing Dong Shan”(a gold well-hole mountain) before the Tang Dynasty. According to the legend,a golden dragon flew out from the deep cave during the Hou Liang Period (907-923) of the Five Dynasties (907-960). Since then the mountain has been called Huanglong Shan (golden dragon mountain) and the cave is called Huanglong Dong (golden dragon cave). It is a blessedcave for Taoists. There is a forest of grotesque rocks on the mountain, especially,a giant stone ball lies about 3 metres to the eastside of the cave entrance. That stone ball is so-called “dragon egg”. Passing by the stone egg, the remains of an ancient Taoist temple comes into the view of tourists. There are also many “Mo Rock”hillside carvings over the mountain including the original handwritings of Du Mu, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian and Zhao Mengfu, etc.

Golden Dragon Cave is the only ponor(aven) in the Yangtze River Delta. The diameter of the cave is 14.8 meters and it is 37 meters invertical depth. At the entrance, tourists will see the inscriptions of “Huanglong Dong”written by the calligrapher Huang Tingjian in the Song Dynasty. If you craned your neck and looked into the cave, you would find it unfathomable. Four pathways available for walking and sightseeing descend steeply to the bottom of the cave. When one gets deep inside the cave, the cold air from the bottom chills one to the bone. Tourists will find a so-called”Huanglong Gong”(Dragon Palace) in the cave. The mystical palace is located in the southeast corner of the cave, which was discovered in 1966. After finishing the exploitation and construction of it, the touring area inside is extended to 10,000 square metres, and the cave has been open to the public since then. Tourists can find hundreds of stalactites within the cave in different shapes. When the water-drop from the small stalactites above drips onto the larger stalactites on the cave ground at intervals, it creates a melodious rhythm. The most attractive of the cave is the sound-stone hall which occupies an area about 200 square metres.

There are about one hundred stalactites in grotesque shape hanging from the vault of the caved hall, and artistically spaced in order. When visitorsknock or pat at some stalactites, the stalactites would sound pleasantly. If you strike them continuously at certain rhythem back and forth,a piece of beautiful music might be produced out. Its fine timbre, sound volume and accuracy in pitch can be really rated as the marvels of nature. In 1980,a film about the sound-stone was featured in the cave by Shanghai Science and Education Studio. Recently,a tunnel leading into the cave has been constructed, it provides a more convenient access to Huanglong Cave.

With the improvement of the essential conditions in tourism, it is a great treat for tourists to make a tour of Golden Dragon Cave.