Classic Zhangjiajie Landscapes (13)
Guanyin Cave Tour Route: Guanyin Cave lies in the northeast of Wulingyuan District, 5 km from the district government. It is a mysterious cave named for a stone pillar resembling Guanyin. The cave is tall and spacious, filled with stalagmites, stone pillars, stone walls and stone flowers. Its most distinctive feature is a serene, lifelike stone Guanyin statue.
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Guanyin Cave Tour Route
Guanyin Cave is located in the northeast of Wulingyuan District, 5 kilometers from the Wulingyuan District government. It is a mysterious cave dwelling, named for the stone pillar inside that resembles Guanyin. Guanyin Cave is tall and spacious, with stalagmites, stone pillars, stone walls, and stone flowers that dazzle the eye. Its most distinctive feature is a kind, elegant, and lifelike stone Guanyin Bodhisattva statue inside the cave, formed naturally over millions of years. Guanyin Cave is 7.5 kilometers long in total, with an average height of 90 meters and a width of 30 meters. Inside the cave there are palaces, halls, mountains, and rivers, and within the cave there are more caves, an underground river, a gorge, and even a South China Sea in the cave. Guanyin Cave is divided into 8 scenic areas and more than 70 scenic spots, including the Welcome Hall, Laojun Hall, Fierce Tiger Mountain, the Gorge, One-Line Sky, Mushroom Palace, Guanyin Hall, Back Garden, and South China Sea in the Cave.
Stepping through the gate of Guanyin Cave, visitors notice a stalactite hanging high at the top of the stone wall, oval in its upper part, just like a bronze bell. This scene is called the "Ancient Temple Divine Bell." To the right of the Ancient Temple Divine Bell, several slender stalactites stand side by side on the stone wall, like fairies drifting in. One stone pillar 0.66 meters tall is entirely white, also like a young woman in a white dress. Descending along the stone steps, visitors enter the "Welcome Hall," where stalactites are arranged in graceful disorder and the stone walls bear various patterns, some like young maidens, some like immortals, some like cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs, and some like dragons and phoenixes soaring on clouds... Passing through the Welcome Hall, visitors can see a raised stalactite on the stone wall resembling an old man with kind brows and benevolent eyes. In the cave opposite, a young maiden sits quietly in meditation, in a form like Guanyin Bodhisattva practicing on Mount Putuo. No wonder visitors have given this scene the fine name "The Buddha Guides Guanyin." Moving further ahead are the Treasure Pavilion and the Immortal-Retaining Pavilion. Standing in the Immortal-Retaining Pavilion and gazing into the distance, the beautiful scenery in the cave can be taken in at a glance. The Heaven-Reaching Bridge spans across, and Mount Putuo stands towering. After crossing the Heaven-Reaching Bridge, colorful stone flowers on both sides are dazzling and graceful. Following the slope upward, visitors arrive at a cave dwelling. In front of the cave can be seen two weapons, one a Fangtian halberd and the other a one-zhang-eight long spear. Entering the cave, visitors see an elephant on the stone wall. Turning out of the Sacred Elephant Palace, the divine palace is colorful and splendid; in the vast hall, stalactites in one pillar after another and one cluster after another have peculiar shapes. Those hanging upside down are like a roc spreading its wings, while those pressing across are like a giant python turning over. Qixia Palace is the highest point in the entire cave. Climbing up here, visitors will feel tired. Just sit there for a while, and fatigue will disappear. Descending from Qixia Palace, a huge creature blocks the way. It has a wide-open mouth and glaring eyes, sitting with the mountain's momentum, with its two front legs propping up its body, just like a great tiger, strong and mighty. Opposite Tiger Mountain, several stalactites more than a zhang tall on the peak closely resemble human figures, vigorous and imposing.
Stepping into One-Line Sky, the stone walls on both sides press inward, and a crack extends into the depths. The gorge in the cave is majestic and desolate, unfathomably deep. The One-Line Sky of the cave gorge is more than 120 meters long, with no top in sight, and at its narrowest point less than 1 meter, making it a landscape unmatched among China's karst cave groups. Passing through One-Line Sky, a broad hall appears. Stone flowers cover the hall in layer upon layer, and countless stalactites stand upright like a forest of spears and swords. At the vault, a stream of water pours down from the cave ceiling, like a silver chain clattering into the stone forest. Beside the stone forest, a stalactite resembles a sea turtle raising its head and cocking its ear, listening to the auspicious sound of the spring flow, like a zither yet not a zither...
In the hall of Guanyin Hall, brilliant lights shine everywhere, splendid and glorious, and huge stalactites rise from the floor to the top of the hall. Their colors are some as white as jade, some as golden as gold. The uneven nipple-like rock on the stone pillars is like dragon-and-phoenix reliefs. The central stone pillar, 2 meters tall, resembles Guanyin Bodhisattva. She holds a pure vase and sits upright on a lotus pedestal, showing visitors her broad mind. Countless hanging stalactites under the lights also rise gently like splendid colored ribbons. In front of Guanyin Bodhisattva is a pool of clear spring water, in which grow dozens of stone pillars of uneven length, like many arhats paying homage to her. Visitors have named this scene "The Eighteen Arhats Worship Guanyin."
Entering the Back Garden, countless stalagmites and stone pillars, uneven and densely arranged, make one dazzled and overwhelmed. Following the stone slope downward, with murmuring water beside them, waterfalls cascade down from the stone walls one after another. At the end of the stone slope, a stretch of emerald water appears, more than 100 meters wide. The stalactites in the water have various shapes, like floating mounds.