Linggu Cave is named after the legendary fairy Linggu, who symbolizes a bumper harvest of grains and lived in seclusion here. It is known as one of the ‘Three Caves (Wonders) of Yixing’ together with Shanju Cave and Zhanggong Cave. Compared with the other two caves, Linggu Cave is known for having’mountains in the cave’. Moreover, it retains more of its original features and has fewer traces of artificial development. Linggu Cave is located at the southern foot of Shiniu Mountain in the southwest of Yixing urban area. The scenic area is not large. There are seven cave halls in the cave, and visitors need to tour on foot throughout without any boat rides. However, it should be noted that the roads in the cave are tortuous and complex. The stalactites on the top will drip water, and the ground is relatively slippery. Walk carefully. The entrance of Linggu Cave is hidden deep among the green bamboos. After entering the cave, the road is tortuous and deep. But the deeper you go, the wider the cave becomes. The first cave hall is named ‘Linggu Literary Garden’. The cave hall is relatively small, but there are many small caves on the four walls. Here, there are caves within caves and they are interconnected. It is commonly known as the ‘Crab Cave’. At the end of the cave hall corridor, you can see a stone crevice that is only more than 40 centimeters high. In the past, tourists had to crawl on their bellies to pass through this crevice to reach the second cave hall. For safety reasons, another path has been opened for passage now. The second cave hall is a combination of width and narrowness. The stalactites in the hall are well-arranged and have distinct layers. Moreover, the stone colors are bright. There are landscapes such as ‘Ten Thousand Valleys of Ganoderma’ and ‘Malachite Spring’. On the cave walls, you can also see tiny scenes such as flowing water, waves, snow-capped mountains, and flying clouds, which are full of fun. The peculiar shapes of the scenery here seem to be artificially arranged. Therefore, this cave hall is called the ‘Linggu Stage’. The third cave hall is located at the bottom of the entire cave. There are huge hanging rocks in the hall. There are five water flows converging on the cave ceiling, and seven underground flows intersecting at the bottom of the cave. Eventually, they converge into a clear pool under the cave wall, known as ‘All Rivers Converge into the Sea’. This pool is called ‘Tianfu Lingquan’. According to legend, this pool was the place where the ‘Linggu Fairy’ took a bath in the past. The fourth cave hall, ‘Crystal Palace’, is the essence of the entire cave. The scenery here is beautiful. You will see a snow-white large stone curtain at the bottom of the deep valley. It is 17 meters high and more than 5 meters wide. It is shaped like a waterfall and cascades down from the dome with a majestic posture. There is also a karst waterfall spraying out from the dome. A white waterfall hangs down like a rainbow, making a loud noise. The scenery of the fifth cave hall, ‘Treasure Gathering Hall’, is also quite wonderful. Inside, there are stalagmites, stone flowers, stone pillars, and stone curtains of various shapes. They are long or short, thick or thin, full of vitality. There are also beautiful stalactites like brocade. The sixth cave hall has hanging stalactites and is full of stalagmites. But the stalagmites here are shaped like Avalokitesvara holding a pure bottle, or Maitreya Buddha with a smiling face, or the God of Wealth holding a whip and riding a tiger. The shapes of various immortals and Buddhas are vivid and lifelike. Therefore, it has the reputation of ‘Thousand-Buddha Mountain’.
The seventh hall’s cavernous ceiling and walls are adorned with unpredictable stalactites that take on a dreamlike and varied appearance under the illumination of lights, resembling corals, swimming fish, or turtles and snakes, giving the impression of an underwater palace within the cave. Additionally, Zhanggong Cave, one of the ‘Three Wonders of Yixing’, is located six kilometers to the northeast of Linggu Cave, which can be visited if you are interested. Operating hours are from 08:00 to 16:00 all year round. Preferential policies include: Children: Free for those under 1.4 meters (inclusive); discounted for those aged 6 (exclusive) to 18 (inclusive); Elderly: Free for those aged 70 and above; discounted for those aged 60 (inclusive) to 69 (inclusive); Disabled: Free with a disability certificate; Military personnel: Free for active-duty soldiers with an officer’s certificate; Others: Free for retired cadres with a retirement certificate; free for group tour guides with a guide certificate and group tour order; Students: Discounted for full-time undergraduate students and below with a student certificate. Note: The above information is for reference only; please refer to the actual information disclosed by the scenic area on the day of your visit. Service facilities include a parking lot: [Linggu Cave Parking Lot] with a reference price of ¥10 per time; located at Yangxian Villa, 24 kilometers southwest of Yixing City, Jiangsu Province; with a capacity of 200 parking spaces.
