Baise Leye Dashiwei Sinkholes National Geopark, Guangxi

This geopark is located in Leye County, Baise City, Guangxi Province, and it covers an area of 175 km² and became a national geopark in 2004. It is recognised by karst experts as the world’s first group of tiankengs. It is famous for its magnificent karst landscape. The main geological relics in the park are pits and caves, canyons, dark rivers, peaks and converging planes, arches and giant panda skull fossils. There are also rare animal and plant resources. Twenty-six of the tiankengs are more than 100 m deep, and two have volumes of more than 5000 m³. There are more than 30 karst caves, and the Red Rose Cave hall is the second largest in China and the fifth largest in the world. There are more than 200 lotus thrones or basins in Luomei Cave. The largest has a diameter of 9.2 m and is known as the lotus basin king. There is also a 280 m long natural arch bridge with a height of 145 m that resembles a rainbow across the Willow River Grand Canyon. These features have great scientific...