Caving stands as one of the most challenging extreme sports in the world. Li Yulong, a senior Chongqing Cave Exploration Team member, has spent the past 14 years exploring countless underground wonders. His remarkable achievements include reaching the bottom of a 100-meter-deep cavern to assist the local government in searching for the remains of Red Army soldiers, seeking water sources in the remote mountains of Guizhou, and removing waste from a staggering thousand-meter-deep "Underground Everest."
Li Yulong, a senior Chongqing Cave Exploration Team member, has ventured into countless caves. (Photo/Li Yulong)
Li Yulong, a former education training lecturer and outdoor extreme sports enthusiast in Shenzhen, often engaged in rock climbing and caving. Discovering that Chongqing offered a wealth of explorable caves, he decided to move there and join the Cave Exploration Team.
Chongqing, a mountainous city, is home to one of the world's most extensive karst landforms, characterized by thick limestone strata. The top three deepest vertical caves in China are all located in Chongqing, making it a haven for caving enthusiasts.
Li reflects on the introspective nature of caving: "In some cases, the cave is like a mirror. In an extremely dark environment, you can thoroughly examine yourself and reveal your true self."
Li Yulong, a senior Chongqing Cave Exploration Team member, has ventured into countless caves. (Photo/Li Yulong)
Asia's largest single cave is located in Vietnam, so vast that a wide-body jet could be parked inside. Meanwhile, the deepest cave plunges more than 3,000 meters underground in Europe.
"The views inside are spectacular, beyond words," exclaimed Li Yulong. Caves seem like otherworldly realms, with flora, fauna, waters, and expansive tunnels and canyons.
The inhabitants of caves have endured for thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years, far surpassing human comprehension of time.
Li Yulong emphasizes the importance of respecting these natural wonders: "A cave has memory. It keeps records of all human behaviors. One footprint or piece of garbage will be etched into the cave for thousands of years, causing future generations to lament our carelessness."
In early 2023, 18 of China's top caving experts, including Li Yulong, embarked on a mission to descend into the 1,022-meter-deep Qikeng Caves - the deepest shaft well cluster discovered in China to date - in Tianxing Township, Wulong. Their goal was to clean up the accumulated garbage. Seven of them ventured to an underground cave camp at a depth of 720 meters to remove hundreds of kilograms of waste.
This marked the Chinese caving community's first large-scale, collective cave-cleaning effort.
Li states falling rocks pose the greatest threat during vertical ascents or descents. The stones on cave walls can be easily dislodged, so cavers must stay as close to the wall as possible to avoid being struck. Sometimes, danger may even come from a teammate's accidentally dropped backpack from above.
He implores those who leave garbage in caves to respect the sanctity of these natural wonders: "We should remain in awe of darkness and nature. Don't pursue caving for the sake of taking snapshots, seeking novelty, or with an amateur attitude. Let's not spoil the natural heritage that has formed over billions of years!"
Li Yulong descended into 1022-meter-deep Qikeng Caves. (Photo/Li Yulong)
Li Yulong is immensely proud that the Chongqing Cave Exploration Team recently won the "Best Outdoor Team" at the Golden Rhino Awards, commonly referred to as the "Oscar for Outdoor Sports."
For over 20 years, the team has been at the forefront of caving adventures, dedicating itself to popularizing and developing the sport in China. As a result, more and more Chinese people have become involved in this extreme sport. The team's efforts have showcased the richness and splendor of China's cave resources to the world, pushing further exploration into the unknown realms of our planet. The award speech praised the team as representing the courage and persistence of Chinese folk caving enthusiasts: "They continuously explore a lesser-known dark world, opening a window into another realm for all of us."
Li Yulong, a senior Chongqing Cave Exploration Team member, has ventured into countless caves. (Photo/Li Yulong)
"Caving is not as dangerous as people imagine. People's awareness of protection increases a lot because it looks dangerous. So the risks are quite controllable," said Li Yulong.
Li Yulong told us that caving requires physical strength, techniques, courage, and scientific knowledge such as hydrology and geology. After mastering the necessary caving techniques, he and his teammates began to focus on science.
In each caving action, they would measure and collect various data in the cave, including hydrology, biology, tunnel directions, and sediments. They often cooperated with geological teams, palaeoclimatologists, and insect researchers.
Beneath the surface of the planet we live on, 95% of the domain remains unknown. Countless caves, hidden tunnels, and underground rivers await people's discovery. Li Yulong is willing to be one of the adventurers. Human's exploration of the unknown world is endless.
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