Tiankeng and Difen • Difen

🌟 Fengjie Tiankeng and Difen: A Poem of the Earth’s Cracks!

📜 Located 30 kilometers east of Kuimen, lies the most stunning geological wonder—the Fengjie Tiankeng and Difen group. This karst maze, formed 230 million years ago in the Triassic period, consists of 10 tiankengs and 5 difens, like a jade secret realm cleaved by a giant divine axe. The most spectacular, "Xiaozhai Tiankeng," has a vertical depth of 666 meters, equivalent to stacking two Oriental Pearl Towers, and was once named by National Geographic as "one of the greatest caves on Earth."

🌄 Nature’s Artistic Corridor
1️⃣ Jiupan River Difen
Stepping into the difen feels like entering the world of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Towering rock walls rise hundreds of meters on both sides, with the narrowest part only wide enough for one person to pass sideways. Looking up, a "sliver of sky" lets in faint light, while a dark river roars beneath your feet. Locals say this was the last waterway dredged by Yu the Great during his flood control efforts.
(Tips: In the rainy season, you can see waterfalls cascading from the cliff tops—remember to wear waterproof gear!)

2️⃣ Tianjing Gorge Difen
Geologists call it a "textbook of karst landforms," with rock layers clearly showing sedimentary history from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous periods. Walking along the 7.5-kilometer-long plank road, you may encounter Triassic crinoid fossils embedded in the stone walls or see natural "louvered windows" formed by rock folds.
(Truly breathtaking: When you see the clusters of stalagmites on the rock walls resembling millions of little Buddhas, you suddenly understand what "nature’s masterpiece" really means!)

3️⃣ Xiaozhai Tiankeng
From the viewing platform, you overlook a lush primeval forest at the bottom, with dozens of silver-chain-like waterfalls hanging from the brown rock walls. At the bottom lies "Taoyuan Village," where villagers enter and exit via an 800-step "heavenly ladder," still maintaining the tradition of carrying goods in baskets on their backs. Archaeologists have found saber-toothed elephant fossils here, proving that this was a tropical rainforest millions of years ago.

🌿 Ecological Treasure Wonders
• Living fossil plants: Relict species like Davidia involucrata and Cyathea form a miniature ecosystem at the bottom of the pit. In April, you can see the "dove tree" bloom, with flowers fluttering like white doves.
• Underground river maze: The subterranean river system stretches over 50 kilometers. In 1994, a Sino-British expedition discovered the world’s deepest vertical shaft here (1020 meters).
• Rainbow rock walls: The Danxia landform glows with rust-red and peacock-blue gradients under sunlight, and after rain, double rainbows often span across the difen.

Legend has it that when Zhuge Liang led his army through here, he described the peril as "the earth’s veins severed, the heavenly gate opened." Today, as we explore the suspended plank roads, we are still amazed by the natural "flying sculptures" formed by water erosion on the rock walls—this is no mere geological phenomenon, but the earth’s romantic sculpture!

(Important reminder: Some steep sections require climbing with both hands and feet. It is recommended to bring trekking poles and non-slip shoes.)