The Yiling Cave - Nanning
The Yiling Cave stands in the suburb of Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi. The Zhuang name of Yiling cave means as beautiful as a palace. Green mountains, clear water, unique caves and beautiful stones... That's how people describe the attractions in Guangxi. The Yiling Cave is considered unusual for its rustic village flavor and beautiful countryside inhabited by the Zhuang people.
Its scenic area is dominated by karst landforms, forming clusters of pretty peaks. In addition to the cave, visitors here can absorb the history and lifestyle of the Zhuang ethnic group.
As a national AAA level scenic spot, the Yiliang Cave is a karst cave formed a million years ago as it is estimated by geologist, which looks like a whelk. With so many beautifully shaped stone flowers, pillars, curtains, stalagmite and stalactite, visitors may find different sights at each step.
Amid the music of traditional Chinese instruments, visitors step into a snack bar, in which they can taste the unique cuisine of Zhuang. They include the glutinous millet bun and three-tastes-tea made of bamboo leaves, ginger and brown sugar.
Among those snacks, the five colors glutinous rice dish is considered the most impressive one. Zhuang people make them at festivals as a special treat for their guests. They put rice into plant leaves liquid of different colours, and steam them.
The Yiling Cave was formed by the gradual movement of rocks beneath the ground. After ten million years, different kinds of rocks have been formed in the cave. Visitors will find different sights at each step. Lights of different colors decorate each story. The sights in the cave are an ever-changing scenery of rare beauty.