Guanma Karst Cave

Guanma Karst Cave is situated on the hillside of Yangmudingzi Mountain to the west of Chuyu Reservoir in Yantongshan Town (formerly Guanma Town). It is the largest surface lava cave in Jilin Province.

In 1988, the People’s Government of Guanma Town and No.1 Construction Company of Jilin City jointly developed the cave. The developed passage stretches 380 metres with a total area of 1,800 square metres. In 2001, Mr. Ren Haitao from Wahaha Group contracted the cave with a term of 50 years. In 2003, the cave underwent expansion: the tunnel was extended by 150 metres, and a new entrance was opened while the original entrance was converted into an exit. An underground river section of about 30 metres was developed for pleasure boats. New natural stalactite formations including the Maitreya Buddha and a waterfall were discovered. The waterfall has a drop of 33.5 metres and is also known as the Hundred-Foot Spring. The original scenic spots inside the cave have been well preserved. A General’s Memorial Wall was built outside the cave entrance at the site where General Yang Jingyu once stayed.

The karst cave scenic area has constructed cultural landscapes including a forest of stone tablets, a exotic stone museum, an exotic stone square and Chuyu Villa as well as Mongolian yurts, covering a land area of 8,800 square metres.

The Calligraphy Stone Tablet Forest titled Eternal Masterpieces — Tang Poems and Song Ci Poems was completed in October 2002. The inscriptions were written by one hundred renowned Chinese calligraphers on 120 stone steles, including 60 steles of Tang poems and 40 steles of Song ci poems. Built along the mountain terrain, the tablet forest features winding paths and covered corridors. The buildings with blue bricks and grey tiles are arranged in a well-proportioned layout, simple yet elegant. In the centre of the tablet forest stands an ancient tree with twisted gnarled roots and vigorous new branches reaching skyward, symbolizing the everlasting splendid civilization of the motherland.

The Exotic Stone Museum collects 68 rare stones from all over the country, ranging from Xinjiang in the west, Hubei and Guangdong in the south to Shandong in the east. Outside the museum lies the largest exotic stone square in Northeast China.

The First Guanma Lianhuashan Forest Park Tourism and Culture Festival was successfully held in the Guanma Karst Cave Scenic Area on October 19, 2002. In the same year, the scenic area was rated a 2A-level tourist attraction by the Jilin Provincial Tourism Administration.

In December 2003, Guanma Lianhuashan Forest Park was officially approved as a national forest park by the State Forestry Administration, covering an area of 5,146 hectares. It consists of three scenic zones: Guanma Karst Cave, Lianhuashan and Huanghe Reservoir. The original administrative affiliation, mountain forest ownership and business scope remain unchanged.