Grottes et karsts de Chine
Sur les traces de Xu Xiake

Wong How Man

Meng Yuan, Xishuangbanna

April 17, 2009

Bo Langwen is a 65-year-old Dai man. His best friends Bo Langjin and Bo Langsha are also 65. The trio, like triplets, lives in Chengzi Village right at the border of a nature reserve where CERS has been exploring historical caves since last year.

l Zhang Fan, our China Director and leader of the CERS Caving Team, has become a habitual visitor and trusted friend of the Bos. As we chatted, the elders began letting us in on one of the most guarded secrets of the Dai villagers – about a cave few people knew about.

“The cave is called Bimi (secret) Cave and is a well-kept secret among the Dai elders,” said Bo Langwen. “Even women and young people do not know the whereabouts of this cave. I was only told of the location of it when I turned 55, 10 years ago when my father-in-law finally felt that I could be trusted.” He must have been faithful to his wife to have been deemed worthy of knowing the family secret.

Nearby, perhaps 400 meters away, is another cave famous to all. Bao Niu Jiao Cave (Precious Bull Horn Cave) is traditionally visited by Dai, one of China’s minority nationalities, from around the region. Even those from across the national border in Laos or Myanmar come here to worship.

It is considered a sacred Buddhist cave where pilgrims come and recently opened as a tourist cave. But Bimi Cave is considered both sacred and secret.

The cave was so well hidden that a year or so ago when the three elders tried to relocate it, they at first failed to find it under the thick bushes among this tropical rainforest of southern Yunnan near the border of Laos. But today we are in luck. With the sharp sheave of a Dai knife, they led the way and cut through the thick undergrowth of the forest, opening a foot path up the hill from the village, above and beyond a Buddhist temple.

Why have they kept this cave a secret? In case of wars or calamities, the village elders could bring their families there to hide in safety. If all the villagers, especially younger ones, should know about s

it, the secret might not be so well kept. But decades of peace within China may have rendered such a hiding place irrelevant, thus the three Bos were willing to reveal it location.

We entered through a small crevice between two hidden rocks and descended several meters below ground. The formations inside this karst cave are still very active, with stalactites and stalagmites growing all over. A few bats stirred and fluttered into flight. The three elder men used simple flint sticks barely a few inches long to light their way. When one flint stick burned to the end, another was lit as they moved forward. Our team, in full caving outfits and headlamps, followed closely behind.

At one point, a simple sleeping mat was placed under a receding indent. Bo Langwen said it was for the cave guardian to sleep. For three months every two years, a local senior monk comes to meditate and pray to the Cave God. During that time, meals are brought to him twice a day. Bo said that it would take over a day to finish exploring the cave to its end. At one point, the crack was so small that we had to get on our knees, bend our bodies sideways with our arms folded and stretched forward to squeeze into another chamber that led to another labyrinth of channeled paths.

Measurements were taken to draw up an accurate and three- dimensional cave map. We collected some insect specimens. Two teams of filmmakers, including one from CCTV Channel One, documented our entry into the cave. It is not unique, though. There are probably countless hidden caves throughout the karst region of southern China. Our knowledge and discovery of China’s underground treasure is only just beginning.

The township we are in is called Meng Yuan, phonetically similar to either “dream faraway” or “dream fulfilled”. With our visit to this secret and sacred cave in the border area of China, I feel the second interpretation is more appropriate: My dream has been fulfilled.