Reed Flute Cave

This exceptional cave in the southern province of Guangxi is one of China’s most remarkable natural wonders.

It’s home to dramatic rock formations, stalagmites and stalactites. Some are said to resemble mythological creatures; another, the Statue of Liberty.

It markets itself as ‘Nature’s Art Palace’ – the whole scene is (artificially) illuminated by coloured lighting, creating a riot of colours and shapes.

Inscriptions dating back to AD 792 suggest it was an attraction more than 1,200 years ago, though it was only rediscovered in the 1940s when refugees stumbled across it while fleeing from Japanese soldiers.

The cave’s name derives from a type of reed growing outside that can be made into a flute – nothing to do with what’s inside…