Great Majestic landmark
The mysterious underground grottoes located in China are one of the largest excavations discovered of ancient times and continue to be an enduring mystery.
The magnificent Longyou caves are a series of large artificial sandstone caverns, located at Phoenix Hill, near the village of Shiyan Beicun in Zhejiang province, China. They are considered as ‘the ninth wonder of the ancient world’ in China, and has attracted people from around the globe.
The enormous grottoes has extensive hand-carved solid stones with each grotto descends around 30 metres underground and contain stone rooms, bridges, gutters and pools. Pillars are evenly distributed throughout the caves which supports the ceilings and the walls. These are uniformly decorated with tool marks in a series of parallel lines.
An enduring mystery of the Longyou Caves, is the lack of historical records in China. Scientists in the fields of archaeology, architecture, engineering, and geology have no knowledge of how they were built, by whom, and why. However, it is believed they were created in the Qin Dynasty, 212 BCE.
Twenty-four caverns have been discovered, but only one has been transformed into a tourist attraction, chosen because of the stone carvings which depict a horse, fish and bird.
Recommended Visit: 1 Day
Restrictions: None
Attraction Type: Archaeological Sites, Historical, Sightseeing
