A Glimpse of a Billion Years - A Travelogue of the Nie Long Cave in Pingxiang, Jiangxi

The first stop of the Dragon Boat Festival mini-holiday - Nie Long Cave Scenic Area in Pingxiang, Jiangxi, to experience a glimpse of a billion years. ⏳Tour Route and Duration: Visitor Center → Jiangxi Yangqi Mountain Geological Museum (15 minutes) → Enter the cave, walk inside the cave (2 hours) → Exit the cave, walk up the mountain path (15 minutes) → Reach the free sightseeing car stop, take the car to the Visitor Center parking lot. Total duration of the visit is about 4 hours 💰Ticket Price: Adult ticket is 62 RMB (price found on Ctrip). Since it is included in the Jiangxi Cultural Tourism Card, there is no need to exchange a ticket, just scan the code to enter. Free sightseeing car service is available at the cave exit. 🌟Highlights: 👍1. Suitable for walking. There are very few steps inside the cave, mostly flat ground, the ground is a bit wet but won't wet your shoes, but be careful of slipping. Especially in summer, it's very cool to tour the cave. Both the elderly and children can walk easily inside the cave without feeling tired. 👍2. Beautiful cave scenery. It's one of the longer caves I've visited (normally takes one and a half hours to walk through), and it's quite large (looking up, the cave feels very deep). There are especially many stalactites inside the cave, you can see them all the way, and it feels like there are too many to take in at once, a real feast for the eyes. It truly deserves the title of "the number one cave in the world". 👍3. River inside the cave. There is a river running from the exit to the entrance inside the cave, and you can see this river almost all the way. When passing through a flat area, the water droplets falling on the rocks and dripping into the river make a pleasant 'ding dong' sound, which is particularly delightful to hear. 👍4. Jiangxi Yangqi Mountain Geological Museum. This is located at the Visitor Center, and you can visit it before entering the cave. It has two floors. The first floor has various minerals and an earthquake model that you can experience, while the second floor introduces Zen culture and Nuo culture, and there's also a fun Nie Long dragon-fighting motion-sensing game. ✅Finally, here are some travel TIPS: 📍1. The cave is cool, so if you are afraid of the cold, you can wear a thin coat, and it is recommended to wear non-slip sports shoes. 📍2. Take the free sightseeing car. There is a fork in the road from the cave exit, one way leads to the farmhouses, and the other goes up the mountain to the sightseeing car stop, with clear signs, so be sure to look carefully and not go the wrong way. In short, just follow the mountain path. 📍3. The mountain path from the cave exit to the sightseeing car stop is mostly stairs, which may be a bit challenging for the elderly. We took it slow, and it took about 15 minutes. 📍4. At the free sightseeing car stop, the car runs every half hour or when there are 30 passengers. There are plenty of vehicles, but because there are few visitors to the site, it takes some time to wait for 30 people. The waiting area is in a pavilion with ceiling fans. 📍5. There are no toilets after entering the cave, so if you need to use the restroom, make sure to go before entering. Our little one had an accident in their pants. 📍6. Bring some filling snacks (there is a snack stall inside the cave). We entered the cave after 10:30 am, and regretted not buying the 3 RMB tea eggs at the entrance. Even worse, when looking for a place to eat at noon, since it was after 14:00, several restaurants were no longer serving, and we ended up eating at KFC. It is only when one travels alone that one can hear one's own voice, which tells you that the world is wider than you imagine (from 'Kiki's Delivery Service'). The first stop of the Dragon Boat trip ends with a flourish. 🌸🌸🌸