Grottes et karsts de Chine
Sur les traces de Xu Xiake

The cave is located in a field across the road from the school in Xujia Village, near Huolu.

The draughting entrance has piles of medicine vials, trash, enormous fresh dead pig.

Downstream passage (west) is large with slippery mud floor, and continues up and over a large mound of boulders. There are walls, nitrate pits, and a pot. The passage slopes down with a flowstone floor, and quickly decreases in size to a small crevice with water. Above the stream crevice a big passage continues, about 5m X 4m, but requires a bolt climb to gain access [QM B]. There is no detectible air flow in this part of cave. Just before the passage narrows, there is a small side passage up 6m on the right (north) wall. The passage is 1m to 2m wide, and 4m to 6m high. It squiggles back to a dead end. In this side passage there is a climb in the ceiling that leads to a small room, and a sketchy climbing lead out of the room (better to come in from the top--there is an * scratched in mud in the floor of the room) [QM C].

Upstream (east) from the entrance, the passage is in a tall slanting crevice with good air flow. The crevice is closed in places with bridges. There are three pits in close succession, the last of which can be free-climbed to a chamber with a climb down into a floor trench [QM B] and a way on past boulders (no draught) [QM B]. The main cave continues with a traverse to the right of the pits. Beyond a flowstone slope the passage enlarges into an elongated chamber, with a well-worn traverse on the left, and two muddy soak-aways [QM C] on the right divided by a mound of muddy rock halfway down the chamber. At the far end of the chamber there is a high window and a stoopway, both of which connect to a yet larger (50m long, 30m wide) chamber. This chamber features mud cracks in flat mud floor. Water enters from an aven above [QM B]. A window and stoopway connect to a third chamber. Again, there is a high traverse on the left (with torch embers) which connects back to the previous chamber, and a muddy soak-away/lift tube on the right [QMC]. At the far end of the chamber a final window leads to a short setion of walking passage (with static pool) to a climb down to 25m-wide passage in sight of daylight. The passage has a floor of thick mud, which has been entrenched by water. In the downstream direction, the passage goes to a muddy soak-away where the sediment fill reaches the ceiling. Upstream, the passage continues past a large alcove on the left to an upstream entrance (handline/protection required to reach it from the downstream direction). The upstream entrance has not been investigated, but it appears to be in a depression on the Huolu side of Xujia Cun [QM C]. In winter 2008, there was ice in the upstream end of the cave.

Erin Lynch

Duncan Collis

Pat Kambesis

Charley Savvas

Nancy Pistole