Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,
 
A few weeks ago at one of our Huge Happy Dinners Mr Du promised us a few little adventures during this term and today was the first of them. We thought we were heading to the Tianing Lake that Canadian Jo and I didn't make it to several months ago but due to the low level of water we ended up at what we all thought was a wonderful destination...the Yuhua Cave.
 
The journey took around an hour and a half and ended near to the city of Sanming.
 
The drive took us past the Ancient Town of Herpin and though some of the most beautiful scenery. Huge rugged mountains towered over us and below our bumpy winding road lay lush green valleys and clear and clean rivers. The cave itself was like walking though a colourful dream. Rich greens and purples made the ancient limestone structures look like characters from a Disney movie. Ancient Chinese text could be found along the walk making one stop and wonder at how dangerous it must have been for those whose very footsteps we were following.
 
No lighting, no hand rails, no pathways and sadly for them no beautiful tour guide.
 
At the end of the cave can be found an ancient place of worship above which the world outside offers natural lightening for those with offerings. In a cavern not far away are housed hundreds of Arhats that stand guard over the underground Temple and Monastery below them. As the temperature was well into the thirties after the cave adventure we all sat for a delicious lunch, great company and several cold beers. For those who are interested below is some information I found on the net about the Sanming area and the Yuhua Cave.
 
The photos of course can be found below the text.
 
Beers N Noodles toya.....shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by the wonderful Machine Head.
Every ones Grandparents should own a copy of the awesome 'Year Of The Dragon'.
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Situated in the northwest of Fujian Province, Sanming City neighbors Fuzhou in the east, Quanzhou in the south and is bounded on the west by Jiangxi Province.
 
History: Jiangle County was the first county in Sanming established in the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280). For thousands of years, Jiangle County has remained until now whilst more counties were established in this area. The name of the city 'Sanming' came from the combination of the two counties, Sanyuan and Mingxi, which constitute the city proper.
 
Physical Features: Sanming belongs to low mountainous and hilly area, as well as river valleys. The main land of the city can be divided into several types including fluvial landform, Danxia landform, karst landform and some others.
 
Taining County has the largest area of Danxia landform in Fujian Province.
 
Yuhua Cave: 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) south of the Jiangle County, the cave is a famous karst cave with a total length of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), six caves and three springs. It is named after glabrous rocks like jades and shining rays in the cave. It is the biggest limestone cave in Fujian Province. Since its discovery in early Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), it has always been a hot tour spot. 
 
The six branch caves are known as Zanghe Cave, Leigong Cave, Guozi Cave, Huangni Cave, Xiyuan Cave and Baiyun Cave and three subterranean rivers, namely Stone Spring, Well Spring and Ling Spring, which are 1 to 3 meters in width and the water is below the knee. Small paths zigzag inside the cave. There are more than 180 underground scenic spots which are formed due to the corrosion of lime rocks, among which, "Immortal's Field", "Alchemical Furnace", "Litchi Pillar", "Dragon Coming out from Sea" and "Child Kowtowing to Guanyin" are particularly vivid.