Underground Grand Canyon at Yishui: (沂水)

Yishui (沂水) is a pretty little tourist town famous for its National Geo-parks Yishui Underground Grand Canyon (沂水地下大峡谷) and Yishui Underground Fluorescent Lake (沂水地下荧光湖). If you like under ground geological land formations then these caverns are a must see. Both sites are rated as one of the “Top Ten Most Popular Tourist Attractions and Top Ten Most Beautiful Scenic Spots in Shandong”.

Yishui Underground Grand Canyon (沂水地下大峡谷)
The Yishui Underground Grand Canyon caves are along the Longgang Mountains (龙冈山). The mountains are more like prehistoric hills and the caves are said to be as old as the dinosaurs. They call it the “Underground Grand Canyon” possibly because it crevasses below ground for about six kilometers. This is the longest cave of its type in China. The cave opens up to large areas and narrows down to crawl spaces at parts. Water rushes down the walls at parts and there is a creek that flows through the cave where you can walk along or ride in a little boat. The cave is full of “stalactites” and “stalagmites” formed by water leeching through limestone over millions of years. See below for Wikipedia’s description of these types of formations.

Yishui Underground Fluorescent Lake (沂水地下荧光湖)
Yishui Underground Fluorescent Lake is a 25,000 square meter of surface underground lake full of fireflies hence the name “Fluorescent Lake”. Float around in a boat and take in many more unique cave formations around the kilometer long lake.

About the Developer:
Shandong Longgang Group (龙冈集团) is a leading enterprise in the tourist industry of Linyi City and a key enterprise in Shandong Province that consists of:

– Shandong Longgang Development Co., Ltd. (Shandong Underground Grand Canyon Tourist Attraction)
– Yishui Underground Fluorescent Lake Development Co., Ltd (Yishui Underground Fluorescent Lake Tourist Attraction)
– Ju’nan Tianma Island Development Co., Ltd. (Shandong Tianma Island Tourist Attraction)
– Yishui Galaxy Development Co., Ltd
– Shandong Longhao Investment Management Co., Ltd
– Tai’an Longtai Investment Management Co., Ltd
– Yishui Yimeng Mountain Travel Agency Co., Ltd
– Shandong Bronze Arts & Crafts Co., Ltd

WikiPedia on Caverns or Caves:
Solutional caves are the most frequently occurring caves and such caves form in rock that is soluble, such as limestone, but can also form in other rocks, including chalk, dolomite, marble, salt, and gypsum. Rock is dissolved by natural acid in groundwater that seeps through bedding-planes, faults, joints and so on. Over geological epochs cracks expand to become caves or cave systems. The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3 (carbonic acid) and naturally occurring organic acids. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes, and underground drainage. Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation. These include flowstones, stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, soda straws and columns. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems.

References
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavern

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalagmites

– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalactites

Hours of Operations:

These two tourist destinations are open year round.

Ticket Costs:
Yishui Underground Grand Canyon (沂水地下大峡谷) 96 RMB
Phone: 0539 – 2559999

Yishui Underground Fluorescent Lake (沂水地下荧光湖) 80 RMB
Phone: 0539 – 2599111

Because these two locations are owned and managed by one group you can also purchase one ticket for both locations for 138 RMB.

Location & Directions:

Yishui (沂水) is a satellite city of Linyi City, Shandong. (临沂，山东)
Located 86 Kilometers straight north of Linyi City on the 227 Provincial Road (227省道) you will see the signs guiding you to the above locations.

GPS Coordinates for the Underground Grand Canyon: 35.69526,118.411864

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