Jiuxiang Scenic Region


Jiuxiang Scenic Region (九乡风景区) is located in Jiuxiang Yi and Hui Autonomous Township of Yiliang County 90 km away from central Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

It is famous for its caves, mountains, rivers, deep valleys, minority customs and cultures.

Jiuxiang Scenic Region consists of 5 major scenic spots:

  • Diehong Bridge  (叠虹桥)

  • Sanjiao Cave

  • Dasha Dam

  • Alulong

  • Mingyue Lake.

Diehong Bridge itself includes six major scenic spots: the Green Shady Valley, the White Elephant Cave, the Goddess Cave, the Lying Dragon Cave, the Bat Cave and the Tourist Cableway.

Brief introduction

Located 47 kilometers from Yiliang County, 90 kilometers away from Kunming city, only 22 kilometers from the famous stone forest, Jiuxiang Scenic Area is a famous tourist destination in Yunnan Province encompassed by karst caves, deep valleys, and Yi ethnic minority’s cultural landscapes. Jiuxiang Scenic Area has a cluster of karst caves within an area of 20 square kilometers, known as the most in number and the largest in scale in China. Together with the Stone Forest, Jiuxiang scenic area formed the three-dimensional karst landscape of "see Stone Forest on the ground and Jiuxiang caves underground". Juxiang Scenic Area consists of five scenic spots: Diehong Bridge, Sanjiao Cave, Dasha Dam, Alulong and Mingyue Lake. Only the Diehong Bridge Scenic Spot is open to public now. Diehong Bridge itself includes nine major scenic spots: the Green Shady Valley, Grand Underground Valley, the Lying Dragon Cave, the Goddess Cave, the Fairy Fields, the Lion Hall, the Bat Cave, Yi Ethnic Group Village and the Sightseeing Cableway.

Attractions in Jiuxiang Scenic Region

Lying Dragon (Wolong) Cave

The Lying Dragon Cave is featured by the Twin Waterfalls. Once entering the cave, your attention will soon drawn by two silver waterfalls. Twin waterfalls pour down from 30- meter-high cliffs in parallel creating splashing water and deafening sound, a gorgeous scene. In rainy season, twin waterfalls fuse together, making it hard to tell which is which.

Goddess (Xianren) Cave

The Goddess Cave looks like a crystal palace with crystal stalactites. It is the typical landscape of karst landform. Stalactites sitting or lying here and there just look like a crowd of fairies who are singing and dancing, like a fairy land.  

Lion (Xiongshi) Hall

The Lion Hall is a vast cave formed by stalactites covering an area of 15000 square meters which can hold thousands of people.

The Fairy Field (Shentian)

The Fairy Filed is a natural wonder resembling a terrace. Curbing Dams are scattered in graceful disorder with a total area of 100 square meters. And each dam has a depth of 10 meters. The unique karst landform is called curbing dams in geology and the smaller one curbing basin.

Yi Ethnic Group Village

It is an underground world displaying culture of Yi ethnic group. Mi Zhi Lin is a dense forest where men of Yi ethnic group worship the ancestors on festival day and women is forbidden to enter, which show the unique custom of ancient Yi ethnic group.

Bat (Bianfu) Cave

Legend says that there are ten thousand bats inhabited in the cave in the past, hence the name. Bats gradually moved away when the cave was developed into a tourist destination. The bat cave is famed as "Dangling Stone Forest Underground" with dangling stalactites.

Sightseeing cableway

The sightseeing cableway stretches across mountains and valleys with a span of nearly 1000 meters. Visitors can enjoy landscapes of different seasons in several minutes via cableway.


Client’s Reviews

  • Marafi_Qatar

    Reviewed 9thOctober2013

    This was my highlight during my trip to Kunming. The place is about 2 hours drive from the center of Kunming. You can start the tour with a short boat cruise in the river and then enjoy the giant caves which include waterfalls, rivers and...More

  • Felix3105

    Reviewed 6thMay2017

    The cave is very large with underground waterfalls. It is different from other 'dry' caves I have visited. The caves have been set up by various colours of lights making them look beautiful. It is cool inside the caves. There are a lot of steps...More

  • artiagarwal71

    Reviewed 27thJuly2017

    It is one of the most beautiful caves in China. We booked a car on Didi from Kunming and it takes around 2 hours. The ticket is 90 Yuan. Once you reach the place, you keep on taking steps downward. On the way you see...More

  • 955melaniec

    Reviewed 16thApril2019

    Wow! The mammoth size of these caves is dumbfounding. The beauty of the rock, the limestone, the variety of formations of rock and water all make for a wonderful experience. You need good walking shoes, and it takes about 2-3 hours of walking up and...More

  • noahl314

    Reviewed 23rdJuly2017

    The colorful lighting inside the cave makes the formations look very fake, but they do a pretty great job to cover up the fact that the cave is already dead from the lack of conservation attempts. Inside, the ceiling of the cave has been blackened...More

  • Gordon T

    Reviewed 24thMay2016

    The Jiuxiang Cave is a stunningly beautiful cave that words cannot describe - you have to be there to experience this place. For a photographer like me, this is definitely a dream area as there are many locations along the cave trail that have fantastic...More

  • engineer2207

    Reviewed 23rdMarch2016

    another super place and a must visit place. the jiuxiang cave is a very good experience. the walk is a good exercise. it will take roughly 2-3 hours. but it is not tired.

  • LauraJane597

    Reviewed 25thMay2016

    A large network of large limestone caves, with a well-developed tourist infrastructure. The trip starts with a lift down into a gorge, and a boat trip. Then you explore the cave system's waterfalls, gorges, pools and rock formations on a well-made path, before re-emerging and...More

  • HappyTravelerSarah

    Reviewed 7thNovember2016

    This attraction is also known as the Jiuxiang Karst Cave. We took a lift down 30 levels to descend into the valley and then took a short 10 minutes boat trip to see the valley in a different dimension. Thereafter, we proceeded into the cave...More

  • jess n

    Reviewed 2ndAugust2014

    From the heart of kunming we took about 3 buses. We didn;t use a tour guide or tour bus. 1 inner city bus, and then 2 more buses. All rather rough trips. The caves are HUGE! and beautiful. and I lost every picture by washing...More

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