CHINA 5A TRAVEL
Boat China's longest navigable underground-river caves to its largest in-cave waterfall — Guizhou's double-record karst showcase beside Huangguoshu.
Longgong (龙宫, the Dragon Palace) is Guizhou's most concentrated lesson in karst: the park's own slogan — 'all the karst under heaven is in the Dragon Palace' (天下喀斯特，尽在龙宫) — describes a 60-km² national scenic area where caves, gorges, waterfalls, peak forests, cliffs, streams, stone forests, sinkholes and underground rivers share a single stage. Opened to visitors in 1984, named a national scenic area in 1988 and rated in China's first batch of 5A parks in 2007, it was certified in 2023 with dual Guinness-recognised cave records: the longest navigable underground-river passage and the largest in-cave waterfall.
The core experience is amphibious. From the Heaven Pool dock you drift by boat into the illuminated halls of the First and Second Dragon Palace — roughly 840 and 400 metres of lit underground river, where stalactites hang low over water that glows turquoise, jade and amber, and a guide points out welcoming dragons, crystal palaces and high gorge walls. The river then bursts whole out of the cliff as Dragon Gate Flying Waterfall (龙门飞瀑), a 38-metre in-cave cascade — China's largest. Beyond the falls the park opens to Whirlpool Pond (漩塘), where boats circle a natural karst whirl between stone walls, to the medicinal-plant gorge of Herb Valley, to the bell-haunted cavern shrine of Guanyin Cave, and to the Dragon Character Field — an entire hillside of rice paddies planted as a single colossal calligraphic 龙.
Longgong sits 27 km south of Anshun city and just 30 km from Huangguoshu Waterfall — the classic Anshun pairing, smoothed since 2024 by a ticket valid ten days across both parks. The caves hold a cool 16–18°C year-round, so a light jacket earns its keep even in August, when summer rains swell the falls to their most theatrical. A well-planned visit runs a comfortable three to four hours; the deep route stretches into a full day past Tiger Cave, forest boardwalks and the pastoral lanes of Taozi Village, one of China's most beautiful villages.
Highlights
The Underground-River Boat Caves
Drift through the First and Second Dragon Palace — the record-setting navigable river passage beneath lit stalactite halls.
Dragon Gate Flying Waterfall
China's largest in-cave waterfall: the underground river bursts 38 m from a dark cliff mouth in one white surge.
Whirlpool Pond Boating
Circle a natural karst whirl by boat — 'the mountain doesn't turn, but the water does.'
Dragon Character Field
A colossal rice-paddy calligraphy of 龙 draped over a hillside — the largest single-character field art in the world.
Guanyin Cave Shrine
A Buddhist sanctuary built inside a cavern — strike the bell and listen to its note roll around the rock.
Herb Valley & Taozi Village
A walking gorge of medicinal plants, then farm-stay pastoral karst at one of China's most beautiful villages.
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