Xiyou Cave belongs to the first batch of national tourist scenic spots. A million years ago, the area around Xiyou Cave was lush with jungles, ravines and rivers everywhere. It was a typical subtropical rainforest area. Many rare animals such as giant pandas, Stegodon orientalis, Chinese rhinoceros and sambar lived here. From 1921 to 1926, Dr. Grant, an American paleontological archaeologist, collected a large number of paleontological fossils in the Xiyou Cave area of Yanjinggou. From 2007 to 2010, Chinese archaeologists unearthed three complete fossils of Stegodon orientalis from the Xiyou Cave area of Yanjinggou. Xiyou Cave is a typical karst landform. After hundreds of millions of years of erosion, undercutting and collapse by flowing water, it has formed today’s unique natural landscape of water caves. There are various caves within caves and beaches of different sizes connected one after another in the cave. Extremely rare blind river fish grow here. The tide rises and falls every day. The cave is cool in summer and warm in winter. There are stalactites of various shapes, strange and lifelike. They are like corals, like curtains, like pagodas, like fairies… attracting countless Chinese and foreign poets. The widest part of Xiyou Cave is more than 100 meters, and the narrowest part can only allow one person to pass sideways. Twelve beaches, caves, rivers, lakes and canyons have been developed, with a total length of about 1500 meters. The landscapes include the ancient stele of ‘Inscription on a Humble House’, White Dragon Transforming into a Horse, Bottomless Cave, Yuewei Jade Pool, Bajie Fighting Demons, Wukong Welcomes You, Hanging Lotus, Wedding Dress Skirt, Pipa Cave, Optimus Prime, Golden Rings, Dragons Making a Fuss in the West Sea, Thousands of Volumes of Scriptures, Flat Peaches, Time Tunnel, Banana Cave, Golden Pagoda, Crane Holding Guanyin, Nine Heavens Waterfall, Incarnation of the Dragon King, Dinghai Divine Needle, Farmland Terraces, Coral Stone Flowers, Chang’e Flying to the Moon, Steep Cliff Pagoda, Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, Liusha River and more than 40. The most shocking landscape is the ‘Dinghai Divine Needle’ that rises straight from the bottom of the sea to the top of the cave in the East China Sea Dragon Palace. It is nearly 30 meters high and has an average diameter of about 40 centimeters. At the bottom, there are countless lotuses formed by stalactites surrounding and protecting it, and it also looks like countless small dragons coiling around. Its formation took hundreds of millions of years. According to the existing data, its shape and height are unique in the world’s natural and cultural heritage and are praised as the first pillar in China. Legend has it that after Sun Wukong completed his journey to the West to obtain scriptures, he returned the golden cudgel to the Dragon King of the East China Sea. The Dragon King was worried that the treasure would be robbed and wanted to find a treasured land that could gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and was also secluded and stable for storage. After ten thousand years of searching, he found Xiyou Cave. Since then, the golden cudgel has been hidden in Xiyou Cave. The ‘Inscription on a Humble House’ by Liu Yuxi, a literary figure of the Tang Dynasty, was engraved on a stele in the cave by some unknown divine being at an unknown time. After years of erosion by flowing water, more than half of the ancient stele has been eroded and covered. Now only a few inscriptions such as ‘A mountain need not be high; it is famous so long as there is a deity on it. A lake need not be deep; it has supernatural power so long as there is a dragon in it. This is an humble abode.’ can be vaguely recognized. During the Guangxu period, the white dragon in the cave flew to Beijing to help put out a big fire and made great contributions. Immediately, Emperor Guangxu issued an imperial decree to build a Dragon King Temple outside the cave and personally inscribed an imperial plaque ‘Gong Xuan Quren’, which is now preserved in the Dragon King Temple.
On June 16, 1979, Chinese writers Du Xuan, Lei Jia, and Han Zi visited this place and left behind verses such as ‘The void blends with the grand scheme of chaos, stalactites and stalagmites marvel at the divine craftsmanship; endless are the beautiful mountains and waters, the wonders of nature are eternally boundless.’ ‘The world’s unique scenery, the lotus pillar, becomes a fine piece of literature in one’s heart.’ ‘The silver dragon’s righteous spirit endures, and the golden lake’s water flows on.’ Leaders of Chongqing Municipality, including the former区委书记Ma Zhengqi and the current区委书记Wu Zhenglong, have praised the natural and cultural value of Xiyou Cave’s ‘Dinghai Shenzhen’ as well as its tourism and sightseeing value in their jointly published book ‘The Second Metropolitan Area of Chongqing – Wanzhou’. The visual impact of Dinghai Shenzhen has allowed us to witness the magic and exquisiteness of nature. Chongqing Municipality has designated Wanzhou as its second-largest city, and Xiyou Cave Tourism Scenic Area has been selected by the second-largest city as a tourist scenic area with natural, cultural, historical, and scientific value. In May 2011, it was chosen by the CCTV program ‘Happy Chinese Journey’ as a representative of Wanzhou’s image and charm.
Full text open time: 1/1-12/31, 08:30-17:00. Additional information on preferential policies: 1. The above information is for reference only, and the specific details are subject to the disclosure of Xiyou Cave Scenic Area on the day. 2. Free ticket policy: Children under 1.3 meters (inclusive) in height are admitted for free. 3. Preferential policies: Full-time undergraduate students and below with student ID, people over 60 years old with senior citizen ID, and people with disabilities with disability ID can purchase preferential tickets for the scenic area. Service facilities parking lot: [Xiyou Cave Parking Lot] Reference price: Free; Address: Xiyou Cave Parking Lot; Spaces: 30.
