Grottes et karsts de Chine
Sur les traces de Xu Xiake

Zdenek MOTYCKA, Michal FILIPPI & Zhang YUAN HAI (2022)
Discoveries of large caves in Xiaonanhai Karst, Shaanxi province, China. 18th International Congress of Speleology - Savoie Mont Blanc 2022
Vol. II - Karstologia Mémoires n°22 - SYMPOSIUM 02 - Caving and explorations. p149-152
Speleological exploration in the Xiaonanhai Karst area started with two expeditions in 2016. Between 2017 and 2019, another four expeditions were organized by the Czech Speleological Society and the Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Shaanxi Institute of Geological Survey and the Institute of Karst Geology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. During the expeditions, 20 km of cave passages were discovered and surveyed. The Tianxingyan Cave (currently 12,930 m long and 228 m deep), now the longest cave in Northern China, is the most significant discovery. The cave consists of a huge corridor with big halls (two of them exceed 200 m in length and 100 m in width) and several side passages of different age and character. The Boniukeng Cave (currently 2,699 m long and 326 m deep) is the second most important cave we work in. This cave represents the main drainage on the Daya karst plateau and, as revealed by a tracing experiment, water from this cave flows through the Tianxingyan Cave to the 828 m long Baishuidong resurgence cave. Although an interconnection of these three caves has not been physically ascertained yet, it is more than likely that they are parts of a singular cave system. The exploration will continue in the coming years.
Source :

Filippi, M., Zhang, Y., Motyčka, Z. et al. (2022)
Identification and Potential of Newly Emerging Geoheritage Karst Areas South of Hanzhong, Central China. Geoheritage 14, 125 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-022-00760-2

Source :

Cette grotte a été identifiée ou explorée au minimum par cette (ces) expédition (s) :

• 2018 Shaanxi project 2
• 2023 Shaanxi Project