Firefly Stream Cave and Underground Grand Canyon, Shandong province

Firefly Stream Cave and Underground Grand Canyon, Shandong province
(萤火虫水洞•地下大峡谷旅游区 yíng huǒ chóng shuǐ dòng dì xià dà xiá gǔ lǚ yóu qū)

Location: Yishui county, Linyi city, Shandong province
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Opening Hours:
8:50-16:00 (winter)
7:30-18:00 (summer)
Ticket Price:
General admission:160 yuan ($24.71)/person

Notes:
1. Children under 1.2 meters (exclusive) in height, senior citizens aged 70 and above, and servicemen can enter free of charge.
2. Half-price concessions are available for children between 1.2 meters and 1.5 meters in height, people aged between 60 and 70, people who have a disability, full-time university undergraduates, and primary and secondary school students.

Located in the Yimeng Mountain Area, Yishui county, East China’s Shandong province, the Firefly Stream Cave, with stalactites in various shapes, is a rare wonder in Asia. It is home to an underground karst lake with a water volume of 350,000 cubic meters and a large ecological butterfly valley, and is a large comprehensive eco-tourism area integrating leisure and sightseeing, as well as scientific education and expeditions.

An underground karst cave with a total length of 1,200 meters formed 65 to 230 million years ago is the most famous and mysterious spot in this tourism area. The cave not only has a large number of peculiar features, such as stalactites and strange rocks, but is also home to a kind of firefly that only lives in this kind of damp environment. The insects resemble tens of thousands of twinkling stars, delighting anyone lucky enough to see them.

As the temperature of the Firefly Stream Cave is maintained at 17 C to 20 C all year round, both the environment and the water quality of the cave are very suitable for the breeding of giant salamanders. Currently, there are more than 100 giant salamanders in the cave, one of whom is nearly 100 years old! This animal is very rarely seen in China.

The Underground Grand Canyon is a mysterious and oddly-shaped karst cave kingdom, with a depth of nearly 100 meters. There are more than 100 scenic spots in the cave due to stalactites of various shapes, including "One River", "Nine Springs", "Nine Palaces", "Twelve Waterfalls", and "Twelve Gorges".

As the underground river has a length of more than 6,100 meters, the cave is certified as the "longest cave for rafting" by the Shanghai China Records Headquarters. Tourists can drift along in a boat to experience unpredictable ups and downs and various thrills. The underground river drifting also puts tourists in touch with the wildness of nature, meeting what is perhaps a deep human need.

In addition, tourists can take a rail car from the front of Longxiang Pavilion on the top of Longgang Mountain to appreciate the idyllic scenery on the way to the Underground Grand Canyon. This tourist attraction also takes advantage of its constant temperature (18 C) to develop tourism products such as cave-stored wine.