CHINA 5A TRAVEL
The cave reads best as one descent: dry cave first, boat second, then the surface zones by tram. These notes blend official guidance with recent travelers' hard-won route sense.
Suggested Itinerary
- Half day — The Essentials (about 3 h)
Visitor center → walk or tram to the cave mouth → dry cave (10 minutes) → boat the Nine-Bend Silver River (30 minutes) → Geology Museum (30–60 minutes) → out past the Taizi riverbank. - One day — All Zones (about 5 h)
The essentials plus the tram loop: Silicified Wood Kingdom's fossil trunks, the Yujingshan forest trails and Yanshui Paradise — lunch at the park's restaurant or a riverside picnic. - Two days — Cave, Maples & Springs
Day 1 all zones, overnight at a hot-spring lodge; Day 2 the maple sea at Guanmenshan (关门山, about 21 km) in peak autumn color, or Wenquan Temple's 44°C springs and Xiaoshi town's mutton soup.
What to See
The Welcome Hall & Cave Mouth
A half-moon mouth 16 m high and 25 m wide, the cave's name inscribed above — fronting a grand chamber that holds a thousand people.
The Underground Harbor
A 1,000-m² pool inside the mountain where up to 40 electric boats lie moored — the launch point of the Silver River.
Lotus Lantern's Worm-Textured Stalactites
A rare, rippled formation texture found near the Lotus Lantern — a detail geologists quietly prize.
Yujingshan 'Birdsong Valley'
Four kilometres of quiet forest trail among walnut, birch and pine above the cave — the park's natural oxygen bar.
One Stream of Cloud Camp
A riverside camping base with bonfire nights and dark-sky stargazing on the Taizi — Benxi's growing star-tourism scene.
The Taizi River Bank
The river passes 200 m before the cave mouth; summer adds inflatable rafting, and the hills opposite frame the classic postcard.
Photo Gallery
Tips from Real Travelers
Food & Drink
Xiaoshi Mutton Soup (小市羊汤)
The county's signature bowl — lamb simmered to a milk-white broth, best eaten in Xiaoshi town minutes from the cave.
Chicken & Mushroom Stew (小鸡炖蘑菇)
The Manchu farmhouse classic of the autonomous county — free-range chicken with forest mushrooms.
Pig-Killing Feast Stew (杀猪菜)
Pork, sauerkraut and blood sausage in one warming northeastern pot — cold-weather fuel.
Griddled Potato Slices
Iron-plate potatoes over rice — the cheap, beloved local plate in Benxi city.
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