The 10 Most Famous Caves in China: Beautiful Karst Caves & Travel Tips

Written by Natalia | Updated January 02,2026

When planning a China tour, many foreign tourists will search for the most beautiful places to visit in China. And some caves may have appeared on the page. You may find that some are historic man-made grotto caves and some are naturally formed beautiful caves. This article will introduce the most famous natural caves in China. These caves are basically formed due to the centuries of erosion of rocks. After being discovered, they are developed into scenic areas. To show the details of various stalactites, colorful lights are decorated in the caves, forming dreamy scenes. And South China Karst Region has been listed in the UNESCO Natural Heritage because of its representativeness. Now, follow this passage to discover their unique landscapes.

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• 1. Furong Cave in Chongqing City
• 2. Yellow Dragon Cave in Zhangjiajie City
• 3. Reed Flute Cave in Guilin City
• 4. Snow Jade Cave in Chongqing City
• 5. Zhijin Cave in Bijie City
• 6. Tenglong Cave in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
• 7. Benxi Water Cave in Benxi City
• 8. Karst Caves in Jiuxiang Scenic Area in Kunming City
• 9. Silver Cave (Yinziyan) in Guilin City
• 10. Longyou Caves in Quzhou City, Zhejiang 
• Beautiful Caves in China at a Glance
• Travel Tips for Visiting Chinese Caves
• Explore Beautiful China Caves with China Xian Tour

1. Furong Cave in Chongqing City

• Location: On the banks of the Furong River, Jiangkou Town, Wulong District, Chongqing City
• Best Time to Visit: September – November
• Opening Hours:08:00 – 17:00 (enter before 16:00)
• Ticket Fares:March – November: CNY 150; December – February: CNY 65
• Time Needed to Visit: 2 – 3 hours.

Formed in the Pleistocene of the Quaternary Period, Furong Cave already has a history of more than 1.2 million years. Together with the Mammoth Cave in US and the Clamouse Cave in France, they are known as “the World’s Top Three Caves”. The Furong Cave itself is a dazzling underground art palace and cave science museum.

Entering the cave, you are in a cool world with a constant temperature of 16.1 ℃. The whole cave is connected by a 1,860-meter-long trail. When wandering long the trail, you will find over 70 secondary chemical deposits. Under the exquisitely designed lights, these deposits present brilliant colors, creating a magnificent palace before your eyes. The five wonders that will catch your special attention are the Giant Screen Waterfall, Coral Jade Pool, Source of Life, The King of Stone Flowers and Canine Tooth Crystal Flower Pool. Besides hiking in the cave, you can also experience the Furong River Speed Sliding to overlook the cave from a high perspective.

Furong Cave is actually one of the core attractions in Wulong Karst Geology Park. If time permits, it is recommended to combine it with the Three Natural Bridges and Fairy Mountain to enjoy an in-depth tour.

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Chongqing City Tour with Wulong Karst Geological Park

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2. Yellow Dragon Cave in Zhangjiajie City

• Location: Hekou Village, Suoxiyu Town, Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province
• Best Time to Visit: March – November
• Opening Hours:March – November: 08:00 – 18:00; December – February: 08:30 – 17:30
• Ticket Fares:CNY 121
• Time Needed to Visit: 2 – 3 hours.

Yellow Dragon Cave is renowned as the “All-round Champion of All the Caves in the World” and has been listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Its large scale and abundant varieties of stalactites are rarely seen even in the whole world. The discovered bottom covers an area of 100,000 square meters with a total length of 7.5 km. With a vertical height of 140 meters, it is divided into four floors from the top to the bottom.

Inside the cave, you can find 1 reservoir, 2 rivers, 3 pools, 4 waterfalls, 13 halls and 98 corridors. Do not forget to take a picture of the landmark – magic cudgel. The most magnificent should be the Dragon Palace, where stand tens of thousands of stalagmites and stone pillars. You will definitely be astonished. Another highlight is the Xiangshui River. It is an 800-meter-long underground river. Why is it famous? Because tourists can go sightseeing by boat, which will be a special experience. Besides the cave, the scenic area also includes a picturesque ecological square outside the cave, where the large-scale ethnic music show Zhangjiajie in Misty Rain is performed in the evening.

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3. Reed Flute Cave in Guilin City

• Location: No. 1, Ludi Road, Xiufeng District, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on the right bank of the Taohua River
• Best Time to Visit: April – October
• Opening Hours:April – November: 07:30 – 18:00; December – March: 08:00 – 17:30
• Ticket Fares:CNY 90
• Time Needed to Visit: 1 -5 hours

Reed Flute Cave is naturally formed in an ancient underground lake 1 million years ago. Though the cave is only 240 meters deep and 500 meters long, there are various shapes of stalagmites, stalactites, stone curtains, stone pillars and stone flowers, which are densely distributed in every corner. With the lights, the cave is like an underground palace built with diamonds, reefs and jade. The Crystal Palace scenic spot is also the shooting place of the Dragon Palace in the famous TV The Journey to the West.

What’s the difference from other famous caves in China? Inside the cave, about 100 ancient inscriptions are preserved and the earliest ones can be dated back to the Tang Dynasty. These inscriptions record the sentiments of the writers and monks from different ages, which are precious historical and cultural heritages. What’s more, since its opening, over 180 foreign heads of state and government have visited the cave. When planning a China nature tour, do include the Reed Flute Cave.

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4. Snow Jade Cave in Chongqing City

• Location: Longhe Town, Fengdu County, Chongqing City
• Best Time to Visit: March – May, September – November
• Opening Hours:08:30 – 17:30
• Ticket Fares:March -October: CNY 110; November – February: CNY 70
• Time Needed to Visit: 1 – 2hours

The charm of Snow Jade Cave lies in its youthfulness and purity. Discovered in 1997, it is the youngest one in all the developed caves in China and it is still in the rapid growth period. The growth rate of the stalactites is over 10 times that of the ordinary caves. And about 80% of the landscapes are as white as snow and as pure as jade because of the extremely high purity of carbonate rocks. So the whole cave is like an underground ice and snow kingdom. It can be said it is one of the most beautiful caves in China.

The types of sediments are also very abundant, almost all the stalactite types can be found here. And four landscapes are regarded as the world-class wonders: Snow Jade Penguin, the world’s largest cave shield; Autumn Review of Troops on the Battlefield, the world’s largest and most numerous coral tower flowers group; Coral Skeleton Forest, the world’s densest coral skeleton group; King of the Stone Flag: the world’s highest stone flag.

5. Zhijin Cave in Bijie City

• Location: Guanzhai Miao Ethnic Township, Zhijin County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province
• Best Time to Visit: all year round
• Opening Hours:March – November: 08:30 – 17:00; December – February: 09:00 – 16:30
• Ticket Fares:March – November: CNY 110; December – February: CNY 100
• Time Needed to Visit: 2 – 4hours

Zhijin Cave will shock every tourist with its unparalleled scale and richness. This karst cave has several levels and several stages. The length that has been excavated is already 12.1 km, the widest place reaches 175 meters, the height difference is up to 150 meters, and the total area covers more than 700,000 square meters. With the reputation of “Karst Museum”, over 40 kinds of Karst morphology are formed here.

During the tour, try to find out the three treasures of the cave. The first one is the Overlord Helmet. It is a 17-meter-high helmet-shaped stalagmite. The second one is the Silver Rain Tree. It is in the shape of a pine and as white as jade. The last one is more unique, the curled stone. Just like the name, the stones bend and grow in all directions freely. It seems that they are not restricted by gravity. The reason remains a mystery to this day.

6. Tenglong Cave in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

• Location: LichuanCity, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province
• Best Time to Visit: May – October
• Opening Hours:08:30 – 17:30
• Ticket Fares:CNY 150
• Time Needed to Visit: 3- 4 hours

Tenglong Cave is famous for it unique geological structure. Inside the cave, there are 5 peaks, 10 halls and over 10 underground waterfalls. The most peculiar is the interconnected dry cave and water cave. The dry cave is the Asia’s largest dry cave, its entrance is 74 meters in height and 64 meters in width. While the water cave absorbs the water of the Qingjiang River and forms the spectacular “Reclining Dragon Swallowing the River” waterfall with a drop of over 20 meters. These two caves are separated only by one wall.

Besides the natural wonders, tourists can also watch the large-scale Tujia ethnic customs performance and the laser show inside the cave. Among all the caves in China, only in this cave can you enjoy an unforgettable cultural experience and a different visual feast.

7. Benxi Water Cave in Benxi City

• Location: Xiaoshi town, Benxi Manchu Autonomous County, Benxi city, Liaoning Province
• Best Time to Visit: May – October
• Opening Hours:08:00 – 16:00
• Ticket Fares:CNY 110 – 160 for different ticket packages
• Time Needed to Visit: 2 – 3hours

As the longest underground water karst cave in the world, Benxi Water Cave mainly consists of a 5,800-meter-long subsurface stream. Till now, a section of 2,800 meters has been developed for tourists to go sightseeing by boat. The river zigzags and is renowned as the “Nine-Bend Milky Way”. During the 40-minutes boat ride, you will be amazed by the various shapes and sizes of stalactites, stalagmites and stone curtains illuminated by the colorful lights. Compared with other caves in China, this cave will offer you a quite different experience.

In addition, you can also visit the Benxi Geological Museum and the Kingdom of Silicified Wood, where displays quantities of national-level fossils and hundreds of silicified wood from 140 million years ago. Your travel experience will be enriched greatly.

8. Karst Caves in Jiuxiang Scenic Area in Kunming City

• Location: Jiuxiang Yi and Hui Ethnic Township, Yiliang County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province
• Best Time to Visit: all year round
• Opening Hours:08:00 – 18:00
• Ticket Fares:CNY 90
• Time Needed to Visit: 3 – 4hours

The karst caves in Jiuxiang Scenic Area is the largest and most numerous cave cluster system in Yunnan Province. These caves are formed naturally about 600 million years ago and in a three-dimensional structure with 6 floors. There are several world-class landscapes, including the Lion Hall, Male-Female Twin Waterfalls and Jinghun Gorge, etc. The scenic area also boasts a profound history. In Zhangkou Cave, the ancient human sites dating back 10,000 to 50,000 years have been discovered.

To facilitate tourists feeling the charm of the scenic area from different perspectives, both the boat and cable car are equipped. Sometimes, there are also ethnic song and dance shows to show the local Yi ethnic customs.

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9. Silver Cave (Yinziyan) in Guilin City

• Location: Maling Town, Lipu City, Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
• Best Time to Visit: April – October
• Opening Hours:08:00 – 17:30
• Ticket Fares:CNY 65
• Time Needed to Visit: 5 – 2hours

Silver Cave got the name because the white and transparent stalactites shine like the silver under the lights. It is not hard to imagine how beautiful it is. The cave stretches through 12 mountains and the developed path is about 2km long and is divided into the lower cave, hall and upper cave.

The three wonders are unmissable core landscapes. Music Stone Screen is composed of several stone curtains and stone flakes. Only a gentle tap can produce melodious sounds. Jade Pool Fairyland is named after the fairyland scene of clear reflection of stone curtains on the mirror-like water. The last one is the Waterfall from Snow Mountain. Because of the shining calcite particles, the entire stone wall looks like a snow waterfall. Besides, you can find the three treasures inside the cave: Hunyuan Pearl Umbrella, Single Pillar Supporting the Sky and Buddha Preaching the Sutras.

10. Longyou Caves in Quzhou City, Zhejiang

• Location: Shiyanbei Village, Xiaonanhai Town, Longyou County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province
• Best Time to Visit: March – May, September – November
• Opening Hours:08:00 – 17:30 (enter before 16:30)
• Ticket Fares:CNY 85
• Time Needed to Visit: 2 – 3 hours.

Among all the caves in China, Longyou Caves is the most mysterious one, because its excavation year remains unknown till now. As the world’s largest ancient underground man-made architectural complex, its vast area and high excavation techniques also shocked the archaeological community when it was discovered by the nearby villagers in 1998. So every year, numerous tourists are attracted to explore its secrets.

Now, a total of 5 caves have been opened to the public. All the caves are in the structure of an inverted bucket with a small entrance and a large interior space. Several fish-tail-shaped stone pillars stand and stretch to the top of the cave, which effectively disperse the pressure. This is also the reason why the caves can stay stable for thousands of years.

On the walls, ceilings and pillars are full of extremely regular chisel marks, as if they are delicately designed decorative patterns, giving every tourist a strong sense of industrial aesthetics and order. It is still a puzzle how the ancient people measured and carved the cave precisely in ancient times when productivity was low. So it is hailed as the “Ninth Wonder of the World”.

Beautiful Caves in China at a Glance

Travel Tips for Visiting Chinese Caves

When visiting these caves in China, the following tips may help you to enjoy a more perfect trip.

• Photography rules:the flashlight is prohibited in almost all the caves and the tripod may be not allowed to use.
• What to pack:anti-slippery shoes and a thin overcoat are the most important. Other useful items are a light raincoat and a backpack.
• Take care of yourself because there are usually more steps inside the cave. And do not enter the undeveloped area.
• No not touch the stalactite. The oil on the skin will hinder its growth and cause irreversible damage.
• Take your trash out of the cave to protect the fragile underground ecological environment.

Explore Beautiful China Caves with China Xian Tour

Most top caves in China are in remote areas and require several transfers by public transportation. And many scenic spots have a close contact with Chinese myth, history and folklore. To have a hassle-free and in-depth tour, China Xian Tour is pleasant to offer help. We can arrange a driver to escort you and a guide to give you vivid explanations during the tour. Besides, we can also tailor a trip to cover the nearby famous attractions and meet all your other needs. Do not hesitate to contact us.