Longyou Caves: 7 Facts about This Enduring Mystery of China

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An ancient world of mystery named the Longyou Caves became evident in the village of Shiyan Beicun. This village is in the Zhejiang Province of china.

Four farmers found sandstone caves when they drained the water of five ponds. So far, researchers have found 24 caves covering an area of ​​30,000 square meters.

Scientists from around the world have no idea about these caves. They are the scientists of archaeology, architecture, engineering, and geology.

Mysterious Longyou Caves
ZhangzhugangCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

But they do not know who built it and why. It is one of the ancient wonders of the world to the people of China.

Everyone, from architects to archaeologists, became amazed at the architectural structure. They also became astonished at the construction style of the 2000 years old caves.

But, it is surprising to find so little information in history about these artistic caves. It was the result of the relentless work of thousands of people.

7 Facts about This Mysterious Place

China is a big country with rich culture and history, without any doubt. There is architecture like the Great Wall of China in this country of millions of people.

This architecture is another wonder of china, and we will discuss it below. It is a mysterious place in the great country of China, without any doubt.

The Discovery of the Longyou Caves

In the 1950s, there were major floods in the region. Many nearby villages became the victim of destruction.

The floods submerged villages in the Qingjiang River. The villagers sought refuge near the hill because the place was above enough sea level.

There was no possibility that the villagers of becoming displaced in another disaster. There was no shortage of potable water.

As a result, more and more people from different parts of the area came and built a new village. They made the village at the foot of the hill.

In June 1992, people first discovered 24 caves in Longyou. They found several more caves later. Most of the caves were under the water during the discovery.

One day, some villagers started draining water from a place. After 17 days of drainage, when the water receded, they found a cave.

They observed the structure and construction style of the cave. They understood that humans made this cave. The encouraged village men drew water from six more places.

Many deep ponds are available in most parts of southern China. The ponds have a year-round water supply. And various types of fish are also available in these ponds.

When the caves were underwater, the local villagers thought it would be a similar pond. But not a single fish was available in the cave after drainage.

The Way of Building These Caves

Architects are also amazed at the scope of work of the workers involved in the construction. They think about what kind of work the workers of that time had to do.

The building work includes cutting about one million cubic meters of solid rock walls. And the inhuman work that the workers have to do for this is beyond imagination.

The entrance to the caves is so narrow that sunlight can only enter the caves at a certain angle and at a specific time. And it is not possible to reach the sunlight inside the cave.

Cave in China
ZhangzhugangCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

But how much skillful work in the cave became possible for them is still unknown. Experts did not find any light or torch burning inside the cave.

Scientists have calculated the work. It would take six years to complete if a thousand people worked day and night.

The people of each cave could not see what was going on in the other cave to do this. Scientists have done extensive research in and around the cave.

But they failed to find any information about the cave. They also failed to find the equipment used to build the architecture inside it.

Cave Construction Style

The architecture of this cave is no less surprising! The construction style of the Longyou caves thirty meters below the ground is startling.

The bridges, swimming pools, and drainage systems of the cave are astonishing. You have to marvel at the excellence of the architecture of that time after seeing this.

The pillars of the cave are in such a way that they hold the roof for so many years. As a result, not a hair of the cave faced destruction.

The inner walls, the stone pillars, and the beautiful parallel lines on the roof are magnificent.

The delicate geometric design of the cave walls offers something extraordinary. The sophistication of the perfect construction style is astonishing.

All this is indicative of the higher technical aspects of architecture. The features, patterns, and architecture are often the same.

The surrounding walls are steep and straight. It is hard to complete such work without a proper and perfect design.

The skilled people of that time had the involvement in such construction work. But nothing has become possible to know in history about those brilliant architects.

Strange Pattern of The Walls

According to experts, a strange pattern can be visible on the walls of this structure. It is very like the pottery made in 500-800 BC. But, there is a piece of surprising information.

The structure of the seven caves is like the position of the seven stars. These stars are in the celestial body of the sky that we know very well.

If there is any civilization in the ancient lands of the world, then they have a lot of ideas about astronomy. This structure of China has a relation with astronomy.

There are Many Rumors about This Architecture

There are differing opinions among experts on what could be the purpose of building it. Some experts have seen the width of each wall in the middle of the structures.

They have given their opinions. They think these could be the tombs of the ancient kings or the royal palace. But researchers did not find any tombstones or royal palaces here.

No trace of the dining room or bedroom was available anywhere in the cave. Even no sign of human habitation was available in this architecture.

During the first discovery, most of these architectures were underwater. So many thought, a waterway can be available here. But after much searching, nothing was visible.

Again, some speculate that the ancient kings may have built caves under the ground. They have done it to prepare for battle against the enemy against them.

They used this place to arrange tactics under the ground and to learn various new weapons. As a result, it would not be possible for anyone outside to know.

But he doesn’t need such perfect craftsmanship on the wall anymore. And it took a long time to create this artistic wall.

Some people think that the creatures of the planet Vine come from another planet. They built these structures to hide!

It is unclear why they have been building so many caves in the region for so long. But, many in the area have such beliefs, which have no basis.

Even After So Many Years, the Longyou Caves Remain Intact

Over the past few centuries, the region has become the victim of natural disasters and wars. But even then, the Longyou caves did not suffer much damage. 

Caves in China
ZhangzhugangCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The underground cave structures remain almost intact. The ornamental ornaments on the 50 cm walls of the Longyou caves are still evident today. It would seem that this was the building of a few days ago.

Who Supervise The Building of These Wonderful caves?

The mystery of building the Longyou caves in China is not evident, without any doubt. Experts agree that it is impossible to construct without skillful workers.

But these structures are indeed made of about one million cubic meters of rock. It was not the work of ordinary people. 

The Chinese kings used the Great Wall of China to deter external enemies. So a king could order a large-scale operation for building these structures for a specific reason.

But the question remains? Why is there no mention of that king in any place in history?

There is no information about how much money the king spent on it. So the Longyou caves are the enigma of the history. 

Conclusion

There are many natural and architecturally beautiful places in china. It may include The Great Wall and Zhangye Geopark China. It is possible to add this architecture to this list.

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