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Furong Cave (fú róng dòng 芙蓉洞), located in the east of Jiangkou town (jiāng kǒu zhèn 江口镇), Wulong county (wǔ lóng xiàn 武隆县), less than 3 kilometres from the town, where Wujiang River (wū jiāng 乌江) meets its tributary, Furong River (fú róng jiāng 芙蓉江), is the only cave in China that was listed in "World Natural Heritage List". Furong Cave, together with Mammoth Cave in the US, and Graemes Cave in France, was named one of "The Three Greatest Caves in the World".
Discovery of Furong Cave
 Near Jiangkou Town in Wulong County in Chongqing, halfway up the mountain on the left bank of the Furong (Lotus) River, a branch of the Wujiang River there is a place called "Panjia Yan (pān jiā yán 潘家岩)". This is the location of a "Vapor Cave (zhēng qì dòng kū 蒸汽洞窟)", that gives off steam in winter and cool air in summer. All year round it is wreathed in mist, accompanied by a thundering sound. For centuries, creepy stories about this "Vapor Cave" have abounded and locals did not dare enter. In May 1993, several villagers braved to explore it with torches. 0ne year after their first exploration, on May 1, 1994, this "Vapor Cave" was renamed the "Furong Cave" and was officially opened to tourists.
Veritable Cave Science Museum
It is a large limestone cave, formed in the carbonate rocks of Cambrian-Ordovician Period. Furong Cave is abundant with various speleothems, which shaped the dazzling karst landscapes. Furong Cave is about 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) long, 30 - 50 m in width and the same in height, enclosing an area of 37,000 sq meters (44,251 sq yards). There are 100 species of sediment varying from carbonate to sulphur and over 300 scenic spots in the cave. The Glory Hall, covering an area of 11,000 sq meters (13,156 sq yards), is the biggest and the most spectacular. Exploreras have discovered a huge secret that there were 108 perpendicular shafts within a 10-kilometer radius of the Furong Cave and that the Vapor Pit Cave, at 920 meters deep, was the deepest in China.
 The cave scenery, composed of these speleothems, is so exquisite wrought glorious, gorgeous the single, magnificent that the eye can not take it all in. Many kinds of the speleothems have not been found before in China, especially coral and dog-tooth like crystalline calcite flowers which is developing in pond and a variety of heligmites (helictite) , calcites, crystalline gypsum flowers which developed in the wall of the cave are even much rarer in the country and seldom seen in the world.
Feast for Your Eyes
Inside the cave, every kinds of speleothems including carbonate and sulfate is a feast for the eyes, rich and colourful, widespread in distribution, pure in quality and perfect in shape. The huge stone waterfall and curtain are 15 meters (49 feet) in width and 21 meters (69 feet) in height, which are quite grand. The palm-shaped stalagmites are as smooth as jade. The texture of the stalagmites is delicate and pure, which is rare elsewhere. The red coral and calcite are very precious.
 The accumulation and breakage of stalagmites records the evolution of the limestone in the cave. Numerous and varied speleothems demonstrate the amazing force of nature. The beautiful scene is a wonder that nature created. Now,three scenery areas have been developed, with 2000 metres in its tourist route and more than 30 scenery sites, of which 10 are first-class sites in the world.
 What’s more, Furong cave, is set up with modern facilities such as acoustics and tape-recorded speaking system, and scientific lamp boards and lamp boxes. Its light design reflects the whole effects and artistic dynamic characteristies, and the hue is restored to its natural colour, whose developing is made by Committee on speloeolgy, the Geological society of China, on the basis of scientific research and demonstration, in accordance with high demands and high starting point.
Reputations
Professor Zhu Xuewen (zhū xué wěn 朱学稳), the chairman of the China Cave Association, sings high praise to Furong Cave. He sees it as "a bright-colored and splendid underground arts palace".
In 1993, Furong Cave was discovered by local farmers, and was opened to the public in June 1994. It was appraised as "one of the best caves open to tourists in the world" by Mr. Andy, the Vice Chairman of World Cave Association.
 Visiting Furong cave is not only obtainment of happy moral enjoyment of natural art and magic but also enrichment of many useful speological knowledge.
Main items offered by the tourist center except admiring the marvellous spectacle of Furong cave are drifting on the Furong River, climbing Fairy Mountain, and viewing the landscape of the gorges on the Wujiang River.
Location : Situated in the tourist scenery area of the Three Gorges, connected by river and land with Fuling (fú líng 涪陵), Fengdu (fēng dū 丰都) and Pengshui (péng shuǐ 彭水) along Yangtze River and its tributary, Wujiang River.
Best time to go : anytime
Distance : Chongqing City (188Km), Wulong County (4km)
Transportation : in Chongqing city, taking shuttle bus at long distance bus-station to Furong Cave is lasting about 2.5 hours.
Ticket : 70 RMB
Attractions nearby : Fairy Mountain Pasture, Furong River, Three Bridges Scenic Area, etc.
Local snacks and specialties : bamboo hanging, root-carved, desiccated bean curd, fig, the dishes made by Tujia Nationality, etc.
Tips : Be sure to respect local ethical customs and traditions.
The totem of Tujia Nationality is White-tiger.
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