Zhongping Cave in Luquan County, Kunming
Zhongping Cave is a distinctive feature of the karst landscape, embodying a sense of nature and life. Hidden deep within the earth’s rocky layers, the forces of nature and time have shaped the rocks in remarkable ways. Explorers can appreciate the intricacies of this natural wonder.
Basic Information about Zhongping Cave
Location:
Luquan County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province
Opening Hours: All day
Entrance Fee: Free
Transportation:
Buses from Kunming North Bus Station travel to Luquan County, with a journey time of about 2 hours.
Driving Route:
Departing from Kunming, take Fengyuan Road — Hangrui Expressway — Jingkun Expressway — Xiangshui Road — G108 — Xiuping Road — Dongshan Road, driving 150 meters to reach Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County.
Introduction to Zhongping Cave
Luquan County is one of the counties under the jurisdiction of Kunming City, Yunnan Province. The “Caohai Cave” (草海溶洞) is located in Caohai Village, Zhongping Town, Luquan County. It lies beside Line 4 of the Zhongwu Expressway, approximately 50 kilometers from the county seat and about 124 kilometers from Kunming City, taking nearly 1.5 hours by car.
Main Route:
Travel via the Kunwu Expressway, connecting to Luquan, then proceed along Ludalu to Zhongping Town and from Zhongping Town to Caohai Cave. The roads are asphalt and in good condition. The development of “Caohai Cave” is ongoing, making this a promising attraction to watch for future updates.
The cave is situated beneath the second-layer limestone of the Permian Qixia Formation, developed as a horizontal cave. It extends in a direction of 210° to 250°, with a currently measured length of over 300 meters and an elevation of 215 meters. The cave’s width typically ranges from 8 to 25 meters and its height from 1.5 to 10 meters.
The cave’s cross-section includes semicircular, inverted triangular, and elliptical shapes. During the rainy season, the cave floor features a seasonal dark riverbed. A deep spring river with a flow rate of 30 liters per second emerges at the cave entrance. Stalactites, stone curtains, and stone waterfalls adorn the cave’s ceiling and walls, while the cave floor contains stone pillars and stalagmites.
Though the development of Caohai Cave has just begun, the stones that have not fallen have been around for over a thousand years. Birds still nest in the trees, while streams continue to flow through the valleys, under a blue sky adorned with white clouds. Livestock peacefully graze on the mountains. However, the era of Caohai truly deserves expression, contrasting with the past. As time flows forward, human influence remains limited, yet it is hoped that Caohai can continue to inherit its simple and profound spirit.
