Ancient Chinese Explorers Mapped Karst Caverns

China has some of the most extensive and diverse karst landforms in the world. The highest concentrations are found in the provinces of Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Hunan.

The pre-Qin text Classic of Mountains and Seas, a fabulous account of the geography and culture of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology, contains the earliest accounts of karst caves. During the Southern Song dynasty, Fan Chengda's Guihai Yuheng Zhi (Treatise on the Natural Resources of Guangxi) documented over 20 caves in Guilin, observing that stalactites form when calcium carbonate precipitates from water as it drips and evaporates — a concept closely aligned with modern karst geomorphology theory.

During the Ming dynasty, Xu Xiake (1587-1641), a Chinese explorer, geographer and travel writer, best known for his famous geographical treatise, travelled throughout China for more than 30 years, extensively documenting his travels. The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake, compiled posthumously, provides detailed descriptions of the karst landforms he observed during his expeditions from 1613 to 1639, along with analyses of the mechanisms underlying their development.

Notably, from 1636 to 1639, he travelled through the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou, surveying the karst landforms of China's southwestern region — the largest in the world and the most extensively developed in the tropics and subtropics. The scope of his explorations far exceeded that of Western scholars of the same period, making an outstanding contribution to global karst studies.

Xu was also the first person in the world to discuss tropical karst, clarify its distribution in China, categorize karst landforms and highlight regional variations.

Regarding the mechanisms of karst formation, he not only described dissolution, but also emphasized the importance of water erosion and gravity in forming karst landforms.

In the field of speleology, the scientific study and exploration of caves, Xu provided accurate and detailed descriptions of over 300 caves, covering various branches of the discipline. Regarding the Qixingyan Caves in Guilin, he noted that, "The original route from Qixia Cave to Zeng Gong Rock was a straight path of about two li (one li is 500 meters); later, the path led deeper into Zeng Gong Cave before turning back, winding for about three li. Yet the scenic beauty of these two caves is captured almost in its entirety." This description largely aligns with modern surveying data.

Due to the unique formations and high aesthetic value of karst landscapes, sites such as the Stone Forest in Yunnan and Libo in Guizhou have been developed into famous tourist attractions. The South China Karst was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in two phases, with the first phase listed in 2007 and an extension added in 2014.

Source: Science and Technology Daily