Karst Caves (Photo : UNESCO)
A team of nine Chinese and six French cavers explored the karst caves at the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and found several discoveries. The find includes rare animal and plant species, traces of an ancient military tunnel and a 420-meter-deep sinkhole.
The region has been known for its karst landscape, although it is also known for its limestone towers and forested spired. But as one of the greatest concentrations of undocumented caves on Earth, Guangxi has attracted cavers and scientists from China and different parts of the world, reported China Daily.
According to Chen Lixin, a Chinese caver who took part in the 10-day expedition that started on Feb. 26, while exploring 12 caves totaling 16.5 kilometers in length, they never expected to discover a deep sinkhole because its entrance was only 100 meters in diameter. But because they did not have diving equipment, they failed to find out how deep is the bottom of the pool even as they observed the sinkhole getting deeper.
It is deeper than the average depth of 250 meters of sinkholes in the area, said Jean Bottazzi, a famous French caver who has been in China for several years to explore the country’s underground wonders. Among their other discoveries in the caves are the species Sinocyclocheilus purpureus, a ray-finned fish initially found in Yunnan Province, and several species of white insects.
The French explorer suggested more research in the area because of Donglan’s rich geographic resources and numerous caves with unique ecosystems. The team shared their findings at a news conference on March 4 at the Donglan County.
Besides the unidentified plants and animals, the team also found rock formations, bats and snakes living inside the caves. The exploration trip was considered hazardous because the karst stones are very susceptible to caving in.
