Shihua Cave

The Shihua Cave (Stone Flower Cave), dubbed Beijing's "Underground Pearl," is located in Nancheying Village, Fangshan District, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of the capital. The cave was found in 1446 and is a characteristic landscape of karst caves in North China. It gets its name from a high quantity of multicolored stone flowers. Visitors are transported to an underground palace by a variety of stalagmites, stalactites, stone waterfalls, stone drapes, stone towers, stone pearls, and crystal flowers.

The Shihua Cave is a rare seven-layer cave with a constant temperature of 13°C (55.4°F), with the lowest layer being an underground river. Only the first four layers from the top are currently exposed to the public. The route is made up of sixteen halls and spans around 2,500 meters (2,734 yards). The most appealing are a massive stalactite in the No.1 Hall, moonmilks in the first and second strata, two stone shields, a stone curtain, and a stone flag.

The huge stalactite hanging in the No.1 Hall is the largest in China, with a height of 18 meters (59 feet) and a diameter of 3 meters (9.8 feet). Moonmilk, a national treasure, was discovered in the Shihua Cave and has a 10,000 to 50,000-year history. When twisted, these moonmilks take on the shape of a lotus flower and turn into water slag. The largest and thinnest stone shields in China can be found in this cave. The largest stone shield stands 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) tall and has a diameter of 2.6 meters (8.5 feet), while the smallest measures only 7 millimeters (0.28 inches) thick.

Address: Fangshan, Beijing
Open hours: 08:00~17:00
Lenght: 2,500 m