The Benxi Water Caves () is a partially submerged

cavern A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

system containing a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, located east of

Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...

, Liaoning Province,

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

.Benxi Water Cave (TCT, Top China Travel)
/ref> It was made a national park on January 10, 1994, and is open to the public all year round. It was designated an "AAAAA"-class tourist attraction by CNTA in 2015. The giant 5-million-year-old cavern complex is lit by colored artificial lighting, and expands over with a maximal width of , maximal ceiling height of , an area of and a volume of over . It has a

subterranean river A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow like a river but is contained within a per ...

long, with an average depth of and maximal depth of , and a daily discharge of . Currently of the cave has been developed for tourism, with a dock into the entrance and a docking bay large enough to park 40 boats. Temperature inside the cave is constant throughout the year, at around , though slightly warmer in summer than winter. In addition to the water caves, the national park also offers tourist attractions such as trekking to the top of the mountain, Woodstone Kingdom,

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

rafting on the Taizi River, and the geological museum which hosts many relics and rare specimens collected from the national park area.

References

External links

Official site
in Chinese & English National parks of China Caves of Liaoning Karst caves Karst formations of China Show caves in China Protected areas established in 1994 Geology of Liaoning Tourist attractions in Liaoning {{Liaoning-geo-stub