A long walk on the wild side

Cave exploration

After enjoying waterfalls and lakes on the first day, the next morning we followed He the younger up the mountain and explored the karst caves.

There's no trekking trail, so we had to rely on the teen's experience to find our way. Like an ancient philosopher, our young guide kept saying things to encourage us, like: "According to (author) Lu Xun, there was no road in the world at the beginning. But, wherever more and more people walk, a road will appear."

Maybe he just learned that at school. However, before he could offer any more pearls of wisdom, the three of us had decided to call an end to the rugged journey, but not before seeing the first cave and being drenched by a heavy downpour.

I had been to some karst caves before, but they were all lit up. Decorated with flamboyant colors, they were more like an artificial kaleidoscope, sacrificing the grandeur of nature for the bright lights.

Here, we got a more "original" experience. Flashlights are the only way to penetrate the darkness in the caves and illuminate the stalactites that have been suspended in the darkness for millennia. Perhaps it's better not to adopt a cliched metaphor describing their shapes. The grandeur and complexity of nature should not be restricted by the imagination of people, which just dips shallowly into the truth of the universe.

It takes stalactites a century to grow by a single centimeter. With that in mind, we became extremely careful in the caves, fearing we might accidentally break their tips and destroy this masterpiece, orchestrated by time and dripping water. It's better not to wake up the bats, either. I don't believe in those legends about vampires, but it's a basic rule, because, as intruders trespassing into their world, we would not be welcome.

A cave named Jiudongtian ("seeing the sky through nine entrances") is really marvelous, not only for its breathtaking interior landscape, but also as a reminder that we, as humans, owe nature our awe. Though every entrance looks like a way out, only one is the true exit. As a human, follow the rules and don't be arrogant.

I'm not religious, but you can easily turn into a pilgrim of nature standing in that grand cave, just like a secular tourist might also be moved by looking up at the ornate vaulted ceiling of a church.

Apparently, locals have already turned one cave into a belief center. They tie red cloth strips on a towering rock, and pray here during important festivals. More than a century ago, the caves provided shelter for locals fleeing bandits. The rocks formed a natural fortification.

"Come on, you're the slowest team I've ever led," He junior shouted impatiently, breaking my reverie. Due to the bad weather, a three-hour journey extended to more than four hours.

I retorted, only half-jokingly: "How about you? Some other guides can wear slippers and walk faster. Why do you wear sneakers? Are they better than you?"

"My mom won't allow me to do that," he replied. "She said I should pay attention to my appearance and show respect to you guys. And I look more like a professional tour guide this way, don't I?"