China News Service Xinzhou, September 20 (Reporter Qu Lixia) It is early autumn and the heat has not yet subsided. On Guancen Mountain, 2,800 meters above sea level in Ningwu County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, Wannian Ice Cave attracts many tourists.
The ice cave was formed during the fourth glacial period of the Cenozoic and has a history of 3 million years.
The ice cave was formed during the fourth glacial period of the Cenozoic and has a history of 3 million years.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
Entering the entrance of the ice cave, you will enter a silver-white world.
The ground, ceiling, and walls inside the cave are covered with silver-white ice.
Stepping on the wooden steps all the way down, the mist is lingering, it is also true and illusion.
On Guancen Mountain, 2,800 meters above sea level in Ningwu County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, Wannian Ice Cave attracts many tourists.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
Yan Peng, director of the Ningwu County Bureau of Culture and Tourism, said, “The Ningwu Wannian Ice Cave does not freeze all year round. The ice cave is warm in winter and cool in summer, and the temperature in the cave remains at minus 4 degrees to minus regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter. 6 degrees."
Walking along the wooden steps, there are a dazzling array of icicles, ice curtains, ice waterfalls, ice bamboo shoots, ice flowers, and ice grapes.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
There are wooden steps in the ice cave. Walking along the wooden steps, icicles, ice curtains, ice waterfalls, ice bamboo shoots, ice flowers, and ice grapes are dazzling. These magical works of heaven change with the light and are beautiful.
The ice cave cavity is huge, basically in the shape of a vertical barrel. It has been developed for nearly a hundred meters. The deeper it is, the thicker the ice will be. The freezing period is mainly in summer and the melting period in winter.
On Guancen Mountain, 2,800 meters above sea level in Ningwu County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, Wannian Ice Cave attracts many tourists.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
Surprisingly, there is an active volcano about 400 meters south of the ice cave.
According to historical records, the volcano here has been burning since the Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,000 years.
Along this mountain range, there are five volcanoes burning. The fire area is more than ten meters in diameter, surrounded by hot sand and terracotta, and there is no grass growing.
On Guancen Mountain, 2,800 meters above sea level in Ningwu County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, Wannian Ice Cave attracts many tourists.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
Yan Peng said, “This place is called the Thousand-Year Earth Fire. It is not a volcanic eruption, but coal spontaneous combustion. For thousands of years, the coal in the south of the Wannian Ice Cave has a high sulfur content, and the coal seam is very thin. In sunlight, the sulfur in it ignites spontaneously."
Walking along the wooden steps, there are a dazzling array of icicles, ice curtains, ice waterfalls, ice bamboo shoots, ice flowers, and ice grapes.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
How did the ice cave occur, and why did it form such a geological wonder?
Experts have different opinions, such as the theory of glacier movement, air convection, negative geothermal anomaly, and self-shape theory, etc., but no consensus has been reached so far.
The picture shows a thousand-year land fire taken by a local photographer in winter.
Photo by Cao Jianguo
"Many experts have come to explore the mystery, but there are different opinions on the formation of the Wannian Ice Cave, and we are still exploring and exploring." Yan Peng said.
(Finish)
The ice cave was formed during the fourth glacial period of the Cenozoic and has a history of 3 million years.
Photo by Cao Jianguo