At present, China's cave resorts receive about 40 million tourists from home and abroad annually and play a very important role in the country's tourism industry. Most of these cave resorts are located in southwestern regions, such as Guizhou, Guangxi and Chongqing.

Chen Weihai, secretary-general of the Cave Research Association under the Geological Society of China, said "the abundant karst cave resources are creating large wealth for China's southwestern regions. Southwest China is expected to become a world-class cave tourism destination."

Since the early 1980s, China has opened more than 400 cave spots to tourists and has achieved good economic and social benefits.

Zhang Meiliang, a researcher of the Institute of Karst Geology under the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, indicated that "compared with ordinary surface landscapes, sceneries and living things in caves, ancient buildings near the mouth and the closely-related ancient religious culture have their unique appeal."

(Chinanews.cn May 30, 2005)