Grottes et karsts de Chine
Sur les traces de Xu Xiake

Bulgarian-Chinese-Greek Speleological Expedition “Gaoligongshan’2011” – Yunnan Province, China

Alexey Zhalov1, Kamen Bonev2

Summary: During October-November 2011, 6 Bulgarian, 4 Chinese and 1 Greek cavers realized a joint Bulgarian-Chinese-Greek expedition to Yunnan Province. Within 20 days, 12 of which fieldwork, the expedition worked in two different areas about 400 km far from each other. Ten days were devoted to work in the Baoshan district, in particular on the territory of Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, which stretches along the China-Myanmar border. Six horizontal and 2 vertical caves were explored. 3 more caves were studied close to Kunming city. Among them are the longest caves explored during the expedition: Yenze Dong (Swallow cave) with 1’514 m and Da Shi Dong (Big rock cave) with 1’394 m length. During the expedition, 10 caves with a total length of 4’972 m and a maximum depth of 118 m were mapped. All objects were studied from a biospeleological point of view, and considerable zoological material was collected.

Key words: cave exploration, Yunnan, Gaoligongshan Mt., China, Bulgaria, Greece, lava tube.