1|||Tour Guide Script for Longwang Cave in Zhangjiajie
Distinguished guests and dear friends: Welcome to Longwang Cave (Dragon King Cave) for sightseeing. I am a full-time guide here at Longwang Cave. My surname is X, so you can call me Xiao X, or use the Tujia way of address and call me Amei.
To ensure a pleasant touring environment for everyone, I'd like to ask for your cooperation on a few points: First, there are many forks in the cave, and the lighting is controlled by the guide—turned on ahead and off behind—so please stay close to the group and never leave on your own. Second, to keep the air fresh inside the cave, those friends willing to make a sacrifice for the nation's tobacco industry will have to hold off—smoking is not allowed in the cave. Third, for your own safety, please do not climb over or leave the walkway to view scenery or take photos. If there is anything I haven't explained clearly along the way, please feel free to ask, and I will do my best to answer. Thank you for your cooperation. Finally, I hope my commentary will bring you joy on today's journey through Longwang Cave.
(Cave Entrance) The spot where we are now standing is the entrance to Longwang Cave, and our tour today begins right here. Before we start, please allow me to give you an overview of Longwang Cave. It is located in Cili County, Zhangjiajie City, right next to the World Natural Heritage site Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, and is one of its core attractions. This is also the hometown of Mr. Du Xinwu, Sun Yat-sen's personal bodyguard, known as China's Number One Escort.
Longwang Cave was discovered and explored by local villagers as early as 1970, and in August 2003 it was placed under the management of the Zhangjiajie Bailong Tourism Group. It is a typical karst formation—an extra-large limestone cave with an age of 380 million years, making it one of the oldest caves in China. The temperature inside stays at around 15–20 degrees Celsius year-round. The cave is 15 kilometers long, but only 3.5 kilometers have been developed so far, about one quarter of its total length. The tour takes nearly two hours. Please follow me closely.
(Skylight) Please look up. Above us there is a naturally formed skylight, 1.2 meters in diameter. In fact, this was the only true entrance to Longwang Cave before it was developed; the entrance we just passed through was dug artificially after development to make it easier for visitors to enter and exit. I'm sure you have all heard of the fame of Mr. Du Xinwu, Sun Yat-sen's personal bodyguard. His martial arts skills were outstanding and his techniques superb, and he was especially renowned throughout Southeast Asia. Mr. Du Xinwu's former residence is located one kilometer north of the cave entrance. Legend has it that his extraordinary martial prowess came from leaping down through this skylight into Longwang Cave every day to train hard.
(Welcome Pillars) Here you can see three stone pillars of varying heights, which we call the Welcome Pillars. Some friends may wonder: why are there three Welcome Pillars? This has to do with a local custom, and after my explanation you will understand. Zhangjiajie is a region where ethnic minorities live together, with the Tujia people being the majority, making up about 70 percent of the city's population. The Tujia people have a custom: the most ceremonious way to welcome their most honored guests from afar is to serve them three rounds of tea. First, fried rice tea, to express warm welcome; second, egg tea, to symbolize reunion and happiness; and finally, leaf tea, to signify that the bond between host and guest will last forever. Today, all the staff of Longwang Cave use this unique method of pillars in place of tea to wish our honored guests from afar good health, success in all things, happiness and good fortune.
(Natural Stage) On the left side in the direction we are walking, there is a naturally formed stage. After we finish the tour and come back this way, we can enjoy song-and-dance performances here that depict life in the Dragon King's palace.
(Broken Pillars) Now please look at the stone pillars on our left. Their middle sections, or their upper and lower parts, have broken apart naturally, and the fracture points are clearly visible with distinct ridges and hollows. What caused this? According to cave experts, this is because during the formation of the cave there were multiple intermittent uplifts, causing the underground karst development to show layered characteristics. In other words, the level where we are now is only the topmost layer of the cave; below us there are a second, third, and even more layers. So when crustal movements occurred, the cave floor subsided and collapsed, and these broken pillars were simply pulled apart by the movement, with the broken sections being their weakest parts. Of course, some friends say that these were kicked apart by the great hero Du Xinwu while practicing his leg techniques. So, would you say his martial arts were formidable or not?
(Dragon Dance Hall) Arriving here, I'm sure everyone feels a sudden sense of openness. Ahead, neon lights flicker and dancing shadows sway—it is a truly enchanting scene. This is the first large hall on today's tour, the Dragon Dance Hall. To truly appreciate its charm, actions speak louder than words, so let's hurry down and take a look.
(Phoenix Palace, Dragon Dance Pool) The place we have now reached is the VIP room of the Dragon Dance Hall. It is resplendent with golden light and filled with an infinite variety of forms—everything in the world seems to be here—so we also call it the Hall of All Phenomena. Because there is a beautiful phoenix inside the Hall of All Phenomena, it is also called the Phoenix Palace. Now, everyone might as well try to find where that beautiful phoenix is hiding. It is said that the friend who finds the phoenix first will enjoy a life of wealth and happiness like the phoenix.
Please follow the beam of my flashlight. Here is a stalactite shaped like a beautiful phoenix, its body hanging upside down from the stone wall. Look—its head points downward, and water from the cave ceiling drips continuously from its beak, as if it were spitting something out. Below it, a large pile of black pearls has already formed, so we call this scenic spot "Phoenix Spitting Pearls." This is the work of nature, and it also shows how wealthy the Dragon King is.
(Arriving at the pool) The pool you are now passing is the Dragon Dance Pool of the Dragon Dance Hall. Legend has it that this is where the Dragon King's youngest daughter performed water dances to entertain him, and she is still there putting on her makeup and dressing up. If you are lucky, you might greet her later on.
(South Heavenly Gate) (While climbing the steps, appropriately insert a Tujia folk song before reaching the South Heavenly Gate.) When you arrive here, you will pass through a natural stone gate formed by stone pillars and stalagmites. We call it the South Heavenly Gate. As everyone knows, the South Heavenly Gate is the necessary passage to the fairy realm. So now, please come with me and head straight for the fairy realm to enjoy even more beautiful scenery. (Experience the stalactites up close) All right, we are now about to pass through the Stalactite Corridor. Friends who are tall should be careful of their heads—don't win the "top prize." At the same time, you can stop and take a close look at these crystal-clear, delicate, miniature stalactites above your head. But please don't touch them—they are very fragile, and every centimeter of growth takes a hundred years.
(Tiger Tooth Dragon Gate) You may not know that outside Longwang Cave there is a Dragon King Pool. There is a saying: "Dragon pool and tiger den—where dragons lurk and tigers crouch." Please look over here. Beside us crouches a mighty big tiger. See its gaping bloody mouth and sharp teeth, and you'll know how awe-inspiring this tiger is. So we call this auspicious place where dragons lurk and tigers crouch the Tiger Tooth Dragon Gate.
(Dragon King Bridge) When we arrive here, the first thing that catches everyone's eye is a dragon full of spirit and with bright, piercing eyes. This is our Dragon King. Look—it has even raised its front claw, greeting us. At the beginning of Longwang Cave's development and construction, there was a natural stone bridge here, but it was very narrow. So, to make walking easier for everyone and to allow visitors to enjoy more wonders and beautiful sights, the only bridge inside the cave was built at this unavoidable passage—the Dragon King Bridge. As everyone knows, the dragon is a symbol of happiness and good fortune for Chinese people, the hope for national peace and prosperity, and the totem of Chinese people's endless vitality. So as you pass by, you can touch the dragon's body and the dragon pillars to share in the good luck and bring happiness and auspiciousness home.
(Water Curtain Cave, Crystal Waterfall) After crossing the Dragon King Bridge, we arrive at the Water Curtain Cave. Before us is a natural cave hidden behind a curtain of waterfall. Look carefully—many lifelike stone monkeys are playing joyfully outside the Water Curtain Cave. Some are lying down, some standing, each in a different pose, full of charm and interest. Beside them there is also a small waterfall flowing out over the stone wall. Because there are many crystals on the stone wall, it glitters and sparkles under the lights, so we call it the Crystal Waterfall.
(Corn Cob) After coming along the walkway on the left, we find a stalactite hanging from the stone wall. It has plump kernels and complete leaves, and its form is so natural that it looks exactly like an upside-down corn cob.
(Vines) Please look up. At the top of the stone wall there are three vines growing tenaciously. Everyone guess: where did the seeds of these vines come from? And since there is no sunlight in the cave, why can plants still grow here?
(Pause briefly) According to expert research, the seeds of these plants were washed down from the high mountains by water and stopped in crevices containing mud. In addition, the lighting inside the cave replaces sunlight, enabling photosynthesis and creating this cave wonder.
(Ventilation Pipe) In front of us lies a horizontal stalagmite. Everyone think: did this stalagmite grow naturally into this shape, or did it collapse and end up here?
(Pause briefly and smile) Your answers are quite varied. In fact, this is not a real stalagmite, but a ventilation pipe built by our company to ensure air convection and freshness inside the cave. It has a diameter of 40 cm and a total length of more than 3,000 meters. With the principle of protection first and development second, it was made to imitate a "living" form.
(Peeping Frog King) You have already seen the Dragon King ahead, but there is actually also a Frog Prince in the cave. Please follow my flashlight beam. This is our Frog Prince. Usually he is full of energy and very dignified, but why is he today bowing his head and bending his waist, looking so shy? Actually, he has been secretly watching a pair of young lovers on a date, and when he saw us coming he felt embarrassed and turned away to crouch on the ground.
(Lovers' Slope) All right, dear friends, please follow my flashlight beam, and you will see that young couple on their date. Look—they are tightly embracing each other, gazing affectionately into each other's eyes. Observant friends may have already noticed that there is more than one couple here, so this place is also called Lovers' Slope. It is said that on the Tujia Valentine's Day, the evening of the third day of the third lunar month, they whisper sweet nothings here and speak words of love. I believe everyone has a heart that wishes others well, so let's not disturb them and hurry back.
(Sidle Valley) After seeing the young lovers, we are going to pass through a narrow valley. This is Sidle Valley, because you can only get through by turning sideways to the left. As the saying goes: When you are under someone's eaves, you have to bow your head. So please be careful of your head and don't damage the stone wall.
(One Pillar Propping Up the Sky) After coming out of Sidle Valley, you can see a huge stone pillar here. Look—it stands tall between heaven and earth, mighty and masculine. This is the totem of our Tujia people—One Pillar Propping Up the Sky. For the Tujia people, totem pillars not only represent their worship of animals, plants, and fertility, but are also a symbol of Tujia strength and life.
(Thousand-Leaf Zither) Now please turn your heads. The two huge stalactites before us are both composed of nearly a thousand hollow fan-shaped leaves. Because their thicknesses differ from one another, they can resonate. During the wet season, when water from the cave ceiling drips down and splashes onto different leaves, different notes are produced. Especially when it is very quiet, the sound is extremely crisp, like someone playing a zither. So we call them the Thousand-Leaf Zither. (Although you have not heard the sound of the Thousand-Leaf Zither, I can sing a few lines of a Tujia folk song for you.)
(Longing for Reunion) When we arrive here, we find another broken pillar. But this stone pillar is broken in a rather strange way: it did not break at the smaller middle section, but instead broke at the larger part. Everyone guess—why is that?
(Pause briefly) Yes, you are right. In fact, it is the same principle as the broken pillars we saw earlier. The thinner part of a stone pillar is not necessarily its weakest part. As time passed, both the flow of water forming these stalactites and the composition of the water changed. Although the broken section is thicker, its material composition is the weakest. When the cave floor subsided, this stone pillar split apart at this thicker section. Let's look again: water is still dripping continuously from the broken section, which means the two separated parts are still growing toward each other, and the broken pillar will eventually join back together. According to measurements by our staff, the gap is about 10 cm. Following the rule that stalactites grow one centimeter every hundred years, you can calculate how many years it will take for them to become one again.
(Pause briefly) Right, one thousand years. We also call it "a reunion once in a thousand years." Let us wish them an early reunion.
(Boundary of Yin and Yang) Now before us appear two connected stone waterfalls of completely different colors—one white and one black. We call it the Boundary of Yin and Yang. This phenomenon forms because when the dripping water from the cave ceiling produces sheet-like flows, the lighter-colored stone waterfall is mainly due to being farther from the surface, so the water carrying sediment has been well filtered and contains fewer impurities; the darker stone waterfall, on the other hand, is closer to the surface, and the impurities deposited during the flow along the cave bottom are heavier.
(Peacock Folding Its Tail) Following my flashlight beam, you can see a beautiful peacock. As everyone knows, because the peacock is beautiful, it has developed a proud habit. Whenever it sees someone else's beauty, it raises its head and spreads its feathers to show off and compare. But why has our peacock today folded its beautiful tail? I think someone among us—a handsome man or pretty lady—must have made it feel inferior, so it can no longer be proud.
(Pillar Treasured by the Sea) The place where we are now is another large hall of Longwang Cave: the Dragon Palace. It is majestic and grand in scale, and it is also the largest hall in terms of space inside this cave, so the echo effect here is the best. Legend has it that this was also where the Dragon King sang and practiced his voice. This is a natural sound system, so everyone might as well test the echo effect—don't miss the chance. All right, now please follow my flashlight beam and you will see the treasure pillars of Longwang Cave that guard the sea. We call them Sea-Guarding Pillar One, Two, Three, and Four. Among them, Pillar One is the oldest, with a circumference of 40 m and a height of about 32 m (Pillar Two: circumference 32 m, height 24 m; Pillar Three: circumference 38 m, height 21 m). After coming down here, everyone has noticed that the four giant pillars stand in a row like four strongmen supporting the roof of the Dragon Palace, motionless for thousands upon thousands of years. According to expert verification, stalactites of such giant size are rarely seen in other caves, and the fact that these four giant stone pillars grew side by side makes them even more of a world wonder. Our company is applying for a Guinness World Record for them. Sea-Guarding Pillar Four is the youngest and is still in its growth stage. It is only 9 m high but has a circumference of 30 m, so many friends say it has caught a good era—eating well and sleeping soundly—and has grown into a short, stout fellow. But it fears being overlooked, so it unwillingly curls up its dragon tail to attract everyone's attention.
(Misty Rain Pavilion) This is the most poetic and picturesque spot in the Dragon Palace. Because the cave often has drizzling rain and misty, hazy scenery, we call this unique place the Misty Rain Pavilion. Friends who are interested may go up and feel that mood of "deep affection, misty rain, so many towers in the mist and rain."
(Pearl Grapes) We are about to pass through another gorge. Please watch both your head and your step. As you walk and look, on the left stone wall of the gorge, thousands of stone beads crowd and cluster together, shaped like pearls and resembling grapes. We call them Pearl Grapes. Look—they hang in clusters, round and plump, neatly arranged. How wonderful it would be to eat one! But since we don't have iron teeth and bronze jaws, we can't chew them, so we'll just have to treat them as sour grapes. (Laughs)
(Divine Monk Bathing) Now we have arrived at another large hall of Longwang Cave: the Hall of the Divine Monk. Look, not far ahead, the divine monk is bathing there, with his hand raised, continuously scrubbing his shoulders and washing. Some friends say this scenic spot is also called "The Monk Washing His Hair." Perhaps friends may wonder: why is there a Buddhist monk in Longwang Cave? In earlier years, the local area had abundant harvests. Later, the Dragon King was deeply moved and discussed the matter with Guanyin, and specially sent this divine monk to pray in the cave for peace in the Dragon Palace and harmony in every household. (In the dry season, if no water drips from the cave ceiling, explain it as the hunchbacked divine monk sitting in meditation and contemplating Zen.)
(Happy Meeting, Dragon Mushroom) Before us there are two beautiful sights: one is Happy Meeting, and the other is Dragon Mushroom. Look at this stone pillar: the stalactite above grows downward, and the stalagmite below grows upward, and finally they join into one. The joining point is clearly visible and especially obvious. Now look here: there is a stalagmite that collapsed because its base was unstable, forming a mushroom shape. We call it Dragon Mushroom. Interestingly, the head of the stalagmite has here become the root of the Dragon Mushroom—the whole thing has been reversed.
(Rear Palace) The place where we are now is the last large hall of Longwang Cave, and also the hall with the most stalactites in the cave. You can see here thousands of stalagmites, nearly a thousand stone pillars, and tens of thousands of stalactites. They are in a myriad of forms, each striving to be more beautiful than the next, just like the emperor's three thousand beauties, dressing themselves up especially charmingly and showing their beauty to everyone. So we call this place the Dragon King's Rear Palace. Now everyone can enjoy them to your heart's content. Please look above us—do you see many white tubes? They are the initial formation of what are called inverted stalactites. Their scientific name is "soda straws," and like the drinking straws we use, they are hollow in the middle. Now please follow my flashlight beam. Ahead there is a peculiar sight formed by stalactites and stalagmites. You can see that water from the stalactite above is still dripping down, which means the stalagmite below can continue to grow. Everyone guess: will they eventually grow together? In a moment, when we go around from the side, the answer will be revealed.
(White Jade Pillar) This pure white stone pillar before us is the longest white jade pillar currently found in Longwang Cave. The reason it is white throughout is that the water flow that formed it contained relatively little mud and sand and other impurities. Not far ahead, you can also see the thickest white jade pillar.
(Silver Ear Slope) The stalactites before us are layered one upon another, shaped like silver ear mushrooms. They were formed by splashing water droplets. Because they are especially vivid and true to life, we call this place Silver Ear Slope.
(Undeveloped Cave Section) Before us there are two cave openings. The walkway can still extend forward for nearly 30 kilometers. Undeveloped areas like this account for nine tenths of the entire cave. Because they do not yet meet the conditions for development, they are closed to visitors.
(Lotus Root Broken but Fibers Still Connected) Here there is another broken-pillar sight, but unlike the broken pillars we saw earlier, its broken section is again connected by some small white stalactites, seeming broken yet not broken. So many visitors have given it a very vivid name