Guyuan Cave is a natural karst cave discovered in 1993 during the process of quarrying for stone. It is named ‘Hulu Cave’ due to its resemblance to a gourd. The cave can be divided into six main sections, including the stone wall carvings at the entrance, the ancient human stone carving garden at the foot of the mountain, the ancient human historical display hall, the ancient human carvings on the cliff at the cave entrance, the natural karst cave landscape, and the bamboo garden leisure area.
The stalactites within the cave are diverse and well-developed, with the red and white double-colored stalactites being a rare sight worldwide. However, the most precious find in the cave are two skulls dating back 580,000 to 620,000 years, confirming that this site is one of the complete ancient human activity sites found in Jiangnan to date, coeval with the Peking Man site in Zhoukoudian, Beijing. This discovery has pushed the history of human presence in the Nanjing area back by more than 200,000 years and also confirmed that the Yangtze River basin is one of the cradles of the Chinese nation.
Other fossils found in the cave include over ten species such as肿骨鹿 and 斑鹿, which mostly lived in the Middle Pleistocene about 1.5 million years ago. Nowadays, a few giant bronze statues of apemen hunting have been erected on the top of the cave mountain, serving as a giant symbol of the Guyuan Cave. Throughout the scenic area, one can find stone age architectural features such as thatched huts, stone tools, nest dwellings, and cave dwellings, exuding a sense of history.
The site is open all year round from 09:00 to 16:30. Preferential policies include: Children: Free for those under 1.4 meters in height; Students: Half price for full-time primary, middle, and high school students (excluding adult education and postgraduate students) with valid student identification; Elderly: Half price for those aged between 60 and 70 (inclusive of 60, exclusive of 70), calculated based on the birthday on the ID card, with valid ID; Free for those aged 70 and above (inclusive of 70), calculated based on the birthday on the ID card, with valid ID; Active military personnel: Free with officer’s ID; Disabled: Free with valid identification; Annual park card holders: Free with valid identification.
Service facilities include a parking lot: [Guyuan Cave Parking Lot] with a reference price of free; located next to the Ninghuang Highway in Guquan Village, Tangshan Town, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu; capacity of 50 spaces.
Guyuan Cave
Guyuan Cave is a natural karst cave discovered in 1993 during the process of quarrying for stone. It is named […]
