The Shuanghe Cave, situated in southwest China's Guizhou province, has become the longest cave in Asia and the sixth-longest in the world with a length of 148 miles (238.48 kilometers), the new findings revealed at a press conference in China on March 24.
After a 15-day survey carried out by exploration researchers this year, a new discovery has been found that the Shuanghe Cave is around 238.48 kilometers long. This length, which is nearly the distance between London and Manchester, has overtaken the Clearwater Cave in Malaysia, the previous longest cave in Asia, thereby upgraded the ranking into the sixth-longest in the world.
The Shuanghe Cave, also known as the Two Rivers Cave, is referred to as a karst museum with eight main caves and over 200 branches. It has been explored by Chinese and foreign researchers since 1987 for a total of 19 scientific surveys and many valuable fossils and rare species are uncovered. It was turned into a national geological park by Chinese authority in 2004.
It is considered that the Shuanghe Cave in Guizhou province was formed around 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Up to now, researchers have discovered 143 chambers inside the extremely complex cave, among which 56 are interconnected, as well as five underground rivers and 118 branches.