Grottes et karsts de Chine
Sur les traces de Xu Xiake

From Houping, take the main road east past a farmhouse and down to a corner with a stream crossing the road. Just before this point, a narrow track heads off from the road, next to an aqueduct on the left, passing a highly distinctive narrow 3m high rock visible from the road. This path heads up on the left of the stream. Cross the stream at a small ford onto another path which heads up steeply to a col. Here, join the main path over the col and up the valley. Cross the small stream using a stone slab (the 49H-H1-10 Dao Tuo path heads off ahead on the main path from here). Immediately turn up the minor path on the right which climbs up steeply out of the valley and after only around 150m comes to a pleasant, grassy meadow. The entrance is obvious, on the right.

Upstream

A climb with some stone steps lead down from the entrance immediately to a junction. Left leads to a small nitrate pit and a climb down to the main upstream passage. Right leads to Downstream Goldilocks. Immediately crossing the stream to enter a large oxbow ahead avoids the low, wet upstream passage on your left. The oxbow shortly returns to the upstream immediately before a cross-rift. Right soon closes down. Left goes to a possible high lead through boulders [QM C]. Upstream continues in pleasant, large passage to two entrances on the right. The first two can be exited from to enter an attractive canyon - heading right up it goes to a photogenic cleft with a waterfall entering from high above. Back in the upstream passage, a series of four further entrances are passed on the left. At least the final two can be exited into undergrowth. The streamway passage gains size as these entrances are passed, ending with a 20m wide, boulder floored chamber at the fourth. From here, the passage narrows again. Most of the remaining water enters from an inpenetrable rift 2m up on the right, next to a final small entrance.

Downstream Goldilocks

From the main entrance, turn right and drop down a canyon to quickly reach the main streamway. Turning left upstream here leads to an easy 100m of passage to the oxbow in the Downstream Goldilocks passage. Downstream goes 20m to a chamber with a daylight aven. Going up the chamber enters Dry Goldilocks. The stream heads left from the chamber down reasonably narrow, quite twisty passage with some plunge pools to reach two waterfalls, the first only around 1m but the second is 3-4m to a plunge pool. The dry alternative to descending these waterfalls is Dry Goldilocks.

Dry Goldilocks

From the daylight aven chamber where the water descends left, head up to the right over boulders into a large, wide chamber. At the far end, the light from three small entrances is visible. These open out over a 4m drop and overlook the main valley passed on the walk in. The passage continues by heading left, around to a small pool then up into the boulder choke, following the draft, and descending 2m from a block (best rigged with a 4m sling). This enters a rift which descends left past bat shit, millipedes and snails. This quickly reaches the main downstream passage just below the two waterfalls in Downstream Goldilocks. Downstream from here enters Big Bad Wolf, down a 2-3m climb. There are two spits on the lower ledge, on the right which can be rigged as a short SRT pitch or as a handline (swing to the right, to the ledge above the stream using good handholds).

Big Bad Wolf

From the waterfalls at the end of Downstream Goldilocks, and below the climb down from Dry Goldilocks, follow narrow, high rift past some canal sections and an attractive daylight aven. There is an inlet coming on the left [QM A] and shortly after the passage switchbacks twice. Past a final, deep canal section another entrance is reached, which can be freeclimbed out into a short section of canyon and then fields. This is close to a farm which leads to 50m of track to the main road from Houping up to the col, shortly after the first big hairpin.

Puddleduck

From the entrance at the downstream end of Big Bad Wolf, the rift continues downstream to a duck which obviously frequently sumps. This can be avoided by climbing up to a higher level passage (this can be reached in at least two points). This chokes heading upstream, back towards the entrance, but provides a pleasant, flood overflow passage to avoid the duck. There are a series of plunge pools, one of which needs a handline attached to an obvious, high natural to drop down to a ledge, avoiding getting yourwellies flooded. This leads to stream and canal sections and passes a daylight aven and a high level lead [QM C] and shortly afterwards a canal enters from the left. This canal is presumably the far side of the duck passage. The rift then doglegs sharply to the right and after 100m of very drafty canal it comes to a chamber with a huge boulder in the centre. At the far side is a climb in boulders which would need bolting with a draft which smelt like surface air [QM C]. Following the stream down passes another inlet on the right (too tight) and then a series of three cascading plunge pools to reach a daylight aven. This might be free-climbable but was greasy, mossy and packed with rotting logs. The passage beyond changed character, becoming much more spacious, with cascades and pools weaving between giant boulders for 150m. The survey ended where the downstream seemed to return to narrow rift, similar to the upper sections of Puddleduck.