Giant sinkhole found in China has hidden forest with ancient trees growing at its floor

Mike Snider, USA TODAY - Yesterday 5:21 PM

Cave explorers in southern China may have found the modern-day equivalent of The Lost World.

At the bottom of the newly discovered 630-foot deep sinkhole lies a hidden forest, lush with shoulder-high flora and tall trees.

Researchers also think there may be new species of animals and plants within the sinkhole, which is made up of three caves and measures 5 million cubic meters, the equivalent of 2,000 Olympic swimming pools.

The sinkhole was discovered in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, near Ping'e village in the county of Leye, according to the Chinese government's official news agency Xinhua, The area of southern China is known for its caves, sinkholes, and karst forests, limestone formations that populate the landscape.

Leader of the cave exploration team, Chen Lixin, told Xinhua the ancient trees growing at the bottom of the sinkhole are nearly 130 feet tall – taller than most oak trees. Dense shade plants grew as tall as the explorers' shoulders, Lixin said.

More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/giant-sinkhole-found-in-china-has-hidden-forest-with-ancient-trees-growing-at-its-floor/ar-AAXqVd5

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Enormous Sinkhole With Ancient Forest Inside Discovered in China
BY ROBYN WHITE ON 5/12/22 AT 4:33 AM EDT

From article at Newsweek:
https://www.com/enormous-sinkhole-ancient-forest-discovered-china-1705906

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Chinese scientists find massive 630ft-deep sinkhole with an entire hidden forest inside
Sinkhole has trees as tall as 131ft with species possibly not been seen before

Stuti Mishra
4 hours ago

A massive 630ft-deep sinkhole has been found in China in which a stunning ancient forest range has been discovered by researchers with trees as tall as 131ft (40m) and could include species that have not been seen before.

Cave explorers came across the sinkhole near Ping’e village in Leye County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region earlier this month. The sinkhole is 630ft (192m) deep and measures 1,000ft (304m) in length and 490ft (149m) in width, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The discovery was classified as “large” and experts hiked for several hours before reaching the base of the sinkhole and found three cave entrances.

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China’s Guangxi region is known for its beautiful and sometimes dramatic karst formations. In November 2019, Xinhua reported the discovery of a giant cluster of sinkholes in the Guangxi region. Before this, in 2016, scientists discovered the world’s largest cluster of sinkholes in Shaanxi province in northwest China.

More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/china-giant-sinkhole-hidden-forest-b2083380.html

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A 192 metre deep sinkhole found in China with well preserved primitive forest inside News9 Staff 19 May 2022 6:42 AM

A spelunking or cave exploration team has discovered a giant sinkhole in Leye county in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The group initially identified the sinkhole based on satellite imagery, then mounted an expedition to investigate the sinkhole, to check the kind of vegetation growing there, if there were any rivers flowing, and study any unique flora and fauna that could exist in the sinkhole. The discovery brings the total number of sinkholes discovered in the Leye county to 30. Leye is part of the spectacular South China karst landscape spreading out over 550,000 square kilometres, containing towers, cones, bridges, arches, sinkholes and caves formed by eroding bedrocks.

The sinkhole is located near the Ping'e village, which falls under the Louxi township. A senior engineer with the Institute of Karst Geology of China Geological Survey, Zhang Yuanhai said, the sinkhole measures 306 metres in length, 150 metres in width and 192 metres in depth, with a volume exceeding 5 million cubic metres. The sinkhole can be categorised as a large sinkhole, according to the researchers. There are three big caves in the wall, which according to Zhang can be considered to be the remains of the early evolution of the sinkhole. There is a well preserved primitive forest at the bottom of the sinkhole.

The newly discovered karst sinkhole in Leye county. (Image credit: Wu Hongying/Guangxi Daily) Leader of the Guangxi 702 cave expedition team, Chen Lixin says that there are ancient trees growing at the bottom of the sinkhole that are nearly 40 metres high, with dense shade plants as tall as human shoulders. The researchers abseiled down 100 metres, then walked for several hours to reach the bottom of the sinkhole, before returning safely to the ground. The giant sinkholes are known as Tiankeng or 'heavenly pits' in Chinese, and are special geological features found in karst landscapes, which are seen in China, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.



The newly discovered karst sinkhole in Leye county. (Image credit: Wu Hongying/Guangxi Daily)

Leader of the Guangxi 702 cave expedition team, Chen Lixin says that there are ancient trees growing at the bottom of the sinkhole that are nearly 40 metres high, with dense shade plants as tall as human shoulders. The researchers abseiled down 100 metres, then walked for several hours to reach the bottom of the sinkhole, before returning safely to the ground. The giant sinkholes are known as Tiankeng or 'heavenly pits' in Chinese, and are special geological features found in karst landscapes, which are seen in China, Mexico and Papua New Guinea.

More:
https://www.news9live.com/science/192-metre-deep-sinkhole-found-in-china-with-well-preserved-primitive-forest-inside-171212

More images with articles at google images:

https://tinyurl.com/yc5cv2bj