17 July 2018, Tuesday

It was the second day of our Zhangjiajie tour and we would continue our exploration of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Yesterday, we went up the mountains and visited the majestic Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain. Today, we would not be venturing up the mountains but would instead visit the attractions at ground level.

Our first stop for the day was Huanglong Cave (黄龙洞), located in the Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve. Our guide Xiaochu (小楚) came to our Wally House guest house to pick us up in a van. After a 15-minute drive, we arrived at Huanglong Cave at 8:42am.

The name Huanglong means “Yellow Dragon”. Its name derives from a legend that a dragon lived inside the cave, but it could also refer to the monstrous size of the cave. Huanglong Cave is not the largest cave in the world, or even the largest cave in China for that matter, but it is certainly very big.

As there would be a lot of walking and climbing involved, Dad and Aunt V opted to sit out because they were experiencing some leg pain, and Uncle R accompanied them. The six of us then entered the cave with Xiaochu at 9:18am and we spent almost two hours touring it.

Huanglong Cave is a karst cave, which means it was formed by the dissolution of limestone. Limestone is mainly composed of the mineral calcite. As we walked through the various caverns, we saw hundreds and hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites.

Stalactites are formed by water slowly dripping through the cave ceiling. As the water is rich in minerals, it eventually solidifies to form an icicle-shaped stalactite, a process that can take thousands of years. Likewise, a stalagmite is an upward growing mound of mineral deposits formed by water dripping on the floor of a cave. When a stalactite and stalagmite grow and eventually join together, they form a column.

Stalactites hang from the ceiling of a cave while stalagmites grow from the cave floor. People are often confused between the two but there is actually an easy way to remember which is which: Just remember the letters “T” and “M” – “T” for stalacTite and “M” for stalagMite. The letter “T” looks like an icicle hanging from the ceiling, while the letter “M” looks like two mounds growing from the ground. Easy, right?

The crowning glory of Huanglong Cave is the Sea-Suppressing Needle (定海神针), the tallest stalagmite here at 19.2m. It has been insured for a whopping CNY 100 million, or roughly S$20 million. The amazing thing is that its middle part is markedly narrower than the top, making it a wonder how it can support its weight.

I’m usually not a fan of caves because I find that their natural beauty is often ruined by garish lighting – they tend to go overboard with the spotlights and end up with a crazy, rainbow-coloured mess. Huanglong Cave was no different but I couldn’t help but be impressed by the sheer magnitude of the cave. It was mind-boggling to see the different sizes and shapes of the caverns and the vast array of stalactites and stalagmites on display, all created by nature over thousands, or even millions of years.

I could also see that great care has been taken to carve out proper stone staircases and pathways to ensure that the visitor’s experience is a pleasant one. There is a lot of climbing involved but most of the stairways have handrails so it is safe for older folks. Some areas may be slippery due to the natural moisture in the cave, but overall, it is very safe.

The last part of the visit involved a boat ride on the subterranean Music River (响水河). The entire river is 2.82km long, with an average depth of 6m, and its deepest point is 12m. The temperature of the water stays at 16 degrees Celcius all year round. The boat ride took about eight minutes and it was very enjoyable.

After stepping out in the bright sunshine again, we met up with dad, Uncle R and Aunt V. They had spent the past two hours resting and doing a little bit of shopping. Dad bought a beautiful, 3-dimensional painting made up of quartz sandstone, depicting a typical village set against Zhangjiajie mountain scenery. It was a special piece of artwork and well worth the effort of hauling it back to Singapore.

We departed Huanglong Cave at 11:30am and proceeded to our second destination – Baofeng Lake (宝峰湖), also located at Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve. It was just a short distance away and we arrived at 11:42am. From the main entrance, we took a 5-minute shuttle bus ride to the lake. We then hopped on to a boat for a 20-minute tour of Baofeng Lake.

Baofeng Lake is an artificial lake formed by blocking the gorge with dams. The resulting lake has an irregular shape, extending about 2.5km long with an average depth of 72m, which is very deep. The water is emerald green, reflecting the greenery of the trees shrouding the surrounding mountains.  

During the boat ride, we passed by two small huts where a local gentleman and lady respectively sang folk songs. They ended their songs with a chant of “Youuuuu-weiii”. According to the guide on board, there are a few meanings to it: Firstly, to signal the end of the song; and secondly, as a greeting to passing guests.

As we sailed through the calm waters, I was reminded of our boat ride at Lake Königssee in Berchtesgaden, two months ago. It really didn’t seem that long ago that my parents and I were taking a similar boat ride in Germany. Those were wonderful memories indeed.

The scenery at Baofeng Lake was also quite beautiful, but in my mind, its beauty was tarnished a little by the fact that it is an artificial lake. And of course, it was also much warmer and humid here as we were in the peak of the summer season. I think the weather really plays a big role in shaping how enjoyable your visit is. Ideally, I would have liked to visit Zhangjiajie in spring or autumn when it is cooler, but it wasn’t possible to do so because of the routing and timing of my trip.

After the relaxing boat ride, we took the shuttle bus back to the entrance area, where there was a pretty waterfall cascading down from the side of a cliff. We spent a few moments there taking photos before departing Baofeng Lake at about 1:15pm.

For lunch, Xiaochu brought us to a restaurant nearby. I don’t know where the restaurant is located exactly, but it was the best lunch we had for our entire stay in China! I particularly loved the sliced potato dish with bacon bits. The seasoning tasted like BBQ sauce, and it was like eating potato chips. So yummy! We ordered six dishes altogether and it cost CNY 383 (about S$80), which was still pretty cheap for nine people.

After we were well watered and fed, we moved on to our third destination – Ten-Mile Natural Gallery (十里画廊), also located at Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve. We arrived at about 3pm.

The Ten-Mile Natural Gallery is a long valley about 5.8km in length. In ancient China, li (里) was the unit of measurement for distances and one li is equivalent to 500 metres today. It is called a natural (art) gallery because the mountains on both sides of the valley are lined with a series of natural sculptures and rock formations. Hence, it is like a natural art gallery.

If you’re feeling particularly energetic, you can walk the 5.8km length of the valley to slowly take in the sights. However, a more efficient and enjoyable way is to take the tram. It runs alongside the walking path and covers the distance in about 10 minutes.

As Xiaochu told us yesterday, we will need to exercise our imagination heavily when we visit Zhangjiajie because many of the rock formations are specially named after something that they resemble. Along the Ten-Mile Natural Gallery, some of the highlights to look out for are the God of Longevity Greeting Guests (寿星迎宾) and the Herb-Collecting Old Man (采药老人). No matter how I tried, I just couldn’t visualise them. Perhaps it was because the tram was moving along too quickly. Or that I am not imaginative enough.

We alighted at the end of the tram line and took a short walk around the area. Here, we could see another famous rock formation – the Three Sisters (三姐妹), which has the same name as the one at the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. Apparently, the leftmost peak is the eldest sister carrying a child; the middle one is the second sister holding a baby in her arms; and the rightmost one is the youngest sister who just got married and is pregnant with a baby bump. Accurate? You judge for yourself!

After that, we hopped back onto the tram to the entrance, then took the shuttle bus to our last destination – Golden Whip Stream (金鞭溪), located at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. It wasn’t far away, and we arrived at 4:15pm.

Golden Whip Stream meanders for 7.5km and it is named after the 400m-tall Golden Whip Rock. The stream has crystal-clear water and it flows through a lush forest with beautiful, shady trees. It was very crowded when we visited, so I think it will be nicer to visit first thing in the morning when there are fewer people around, and with the early morning mist still hanging in the air.

We didn’t venture too deep because we would have to walk the same way back afterwards. We only walked as far as the rock column where we saw some wild monkeys hanging among the trees before turning back. We left Golden Whip Stream at about 5pm and ended our day’s tour.

In all, we had a more relaxing day today compared to yesterday. It was just as well because we are visiting Tianmen Mountain tomorrow, where there will be lots of walking involved. Best to rest and gear up for the final push tomorrow!

In the meantime, here’s a tour diary of our three days in Zhangjiajie, where you can catch some of the highlights from Day 2. Enjoy!