Very informative explanation! Even without having been to the Chinese karst, I could smell the hype. Nothing seemed that unusual about these features other than the exceptional size, and the implication that this was just now being discovered seemed improbable, to say the least, when one of the scenes shows a constructed guardrail overlooking the pit, and in others, trails or roads are clearly visible above. Shame on NGS.
--Donald xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Glad you found that useful, Donald. FYI It appears that Figure 1 of Tiankengs: Definition and Description, 2006, Zhu Xuewen and Tony Waltham http://www.speleogenesis.info/directory/karstbase/pdf/seka_pdf9541.pdf shows EXACTLY the "mystery cave" in the Leye Karst that this film is all about. (Note that "Bandong" and "Baidong" are likely the same when you read the Chinese characters or pronounce then in Mandarin - there are all sorts of problems trying to write Mandrin in English, and then trying to figure out by reading the English translations if the names are really the same in Mandarin). Maoqui Dong is the "incipient tienkeng" that they first rappelled into. What a true mystery it was for their 2013 expedition! DirtDoc
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