National 5A Scenic AreaNortheast China
Benxi Water Cave
本溪水洞 · Liaoning, Benxi
The world's longest underground river cave navigable by boat, in northeast China's karst.
The Benxi Water Cave is one of the longest navigable underground river caves in the world, a vast limestone cavern through which a clear river flows for over 3 kilometres, explored by boat. Dramatic stalactites and stalagmites are floodlit in colours along the route, with a separate dry-cave section and geological museum above ground.
Formed over hundreds of thousands of years as groundwater dissolved the Cambrian limestone of the Liaodong mountains, the cave's river system was opened to tourism in the 1980s and developed into a flagship national 5A geological attraction, notable for its length and for its underground boating experience in northeast China.
Day-by-day routes you won't find online — now starting with an 8-day, 1,500 km loop through western Sichuan. New regions are added regularly; tell us where you want to drive next.
