China Travel

Surrounded by a range of karst peaks that do indeed resemble a dragon (or dragons) circling up for the kill (or if they're friendly dragons, for the tea party), Assembling Dragons Cave is an impressive bit of Nature's handiwork.

Stalagmites and stalactites inside the caves add to the suggestion of a dragons' lair, casting fantastic shadows against slick walls and clear underground pools. Some 1,000 meters deep and up opening up into 30-meter wide chambers with 25-meter ceilings, the caverns may be explored either by foot or by boat.

Unlike other caves in China that have been outfitted with garish colored lights and made safe for high heel-wearing touring taitais and xiaojies with poured cement pathways, Assembling Dragon remains relatively unaltered, astonishing with its unearthly natural splendor alone.  

Just six kilometers south of Yangshuo town, the cave opening sits at the foot of Ma Hill (Horse Hill) near Moon Hill and Big Banyan. You might have to compete for space with large tour groups and the water-dappled near-silence of the caverns is often shattered by the call and response of Zhuang folk song, but  even at its noisiest and most crowded, the awe-inspiring presence of the stalactites, natural pillars and deep flowing subterranean waters presides. 

Tours take roughly an hour, though you may wish to extend your time in the caves.