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The Ancient Alu Caves
This scenic region is situated 200 kilometers
away from Kunming , the provincial capital of Yunnan Province
. The scenic region covers an area of 54 square kilomerers,
consisting of three parts: the Ancient Alu Caves , Dailu
Waterfall and Banqiaohe Reservoir .
The Ancient Alu Caves , known as "the
First Caves in Yunnan", is a large underground karst
cave group . "Alu" is a Yi word , the name of
a tribe during the Nanzhao Period . The Ancient Alu Caves
used to be the cave dwelling of the Alu Tribe. The Ancient
Alu Caves have a total length of 3 kilometers , composed
of three dry caves and a water cave -the Luyuan Cave , the
Yuzhu Cave, the Biyu Cave and the Yusun Steam . The Luyuan
Cave is 760 meters long, made up of more than 10 hall-like
caves connected by narrow paths. The biggest cave can hold
4.000 people .The stalactites in the cave are in different
shapes , some looking flowers or pearls , some like waterfalls
or peaks and others like pillars or bamboo shoots.
The Yuzhu Cave has a length of over 800
meters. It is named "Yuzhu Cave" because the cave
is mostly occupied by stalactites and stalagmites . The
most typical scenic point is "the Jade Pillar Supporting
the Sky ", with a height of 8 meters and a diameter
of about 30 centimeters . There are many other stone pillars
in the cave . Near the entrance of the cave there is a large
stone pillar, which is round and smooth as if it were carved
by man .Other scenic are "the Natural Fresco",
"the Axi Dance" and so on.
The Yusun Stream flows under the Yuzhu
Cave . It is an underground river , where tourists can so
some sightseeing by boat . The stream is over 800 meters
long and the stream bottom is clearly visible . Illuminated
with lights , the blue ripples look as clear as crystal;
boating on the stream , you will have a wonderful and peculiar
feeling . In the stream there is a rare fish species, named
"the blind fish", which is transparent and whose
bones are visible .
The last cave, the Biyu Cave has a length
of 780 meters and is a typical valley karst cave . There
are natural scenic points such as a stone shield, rock crystals
and different stone models . "The Ancient Chime"
is a sow of stalactites hanging from the roof of the cave
. If you strike them with a stone ,they sound as loudly
as a huge bell . The Ancient Alu Caves attracts visitors
from home and abroad with beautiful scenery and wonderful
legends . Outside the caves such facilities as cable cars,
parks and restaurants are available to tourists.
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