The karst terrain of China is a paradise of fertile land for the appearance of caverns and mysterious paradises underground. Weeks ago, the Chinese explorer Hongying Wu came across a mysterious forest hidden in the middle of a cavern in the forests of China. At that time it was said that the sinkhole reached 192 meters deep, but it is only now that researchers have descended through its porous walls to explore the mysterious forest in the depths.
Tiankeng or ‘heavenly well’ is the name in Mandarin that locals give to the cavernous formations that are generated as a result of the collapse of karst soil. This type of soil faces underground soil that gradually erodes the rock until it becomes weak enough to turn it into porous stone. As the years go by, underground caverns are created and finally the roof collapses to make way for the amazing sinkholes.
The tiankeng discovered weeks ago in the Guangxi Zhuang region, near Ping’e in Leye, was first spotted by sinkhole hunter expert Hongying Wu using satellite images. After Wu alerted about the presence of the sinkhole, a group of 8 expert researchers and explorers met to make the descent to the mysterious place.
A controlled descent
With Wu included, the expedition team began rappelling down the steep walls of the sinkhole. They soon found firm ground to continue on their way on foot, however, they knew that it was not the bottom of the cavern. They then set out on a hike through a mysterious ancient forest that towered up to 40 meters above their sight.
*Credits: Hongying Wu.
After a few hours of expedition, the team finally reached a small patch of flat land that marked the lowest point of the well with a total depth of 192 meters from the entrance of the cavern. When the explorers reached the bottom, they glimpsed a family of eagles soaring through the air above the mysterious forest and for this reason, they decided to call the tiankeng ‘The Eagle’.
*Credits: Hanshung Gong.
Scientist Yuanhai Zhang, who was also part of the expedition team, estimates that the sinkhole opened in the earth about 100,000 years ago. Then the cavern began to get bigger and bigger until it became an underground forest full of life.
A forest is not the only thing that lies within this surprising natural formation, towards the southeast of El , the explorers followed a path marked by an ancient river that flows into a small underground lake with turquoise waters.
*Credits: Lixin Chen.
The largest group of sinkholes in the world
Although the discovery of the El Águila tiankeng is surprising due to the amount of life that lives there, it is not foreign to the terrain of that region of China. In fact, Leye is recognized worldwide for its large group of 29 tiankengs spread throughout its forests, and many more may exist.
This set of caverns is the largest group of sinkholes in the world and is appreciated for its great importance. In fact, in 2015 UNESCO designated the Leye sinkholes as part of the Leye-Fengshan Global Geopark and recognized them as exceptional natural formations not found anywhere in the world.
In recent years, the search for sinkholes has become a recurring sport for Chinese and world explorers and geological researchers. After all, they are small buried worlds that keep ancient secrets and where life has developed in different ways.