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 * 06-02-22


630 FEET BELOW THE EARTH IN CHINA, AN ANCIENT FOREST BLOOMS AT THE BOTTOM OF A
SINKHOLE


SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE UNDERGROUND WORLD COULD BE TEEMING WITH SPECIES UNKNOWN
TO HUMANS.

A typical karst geological site in WuLong town, Chongqing, China. [Photo: Getty]
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

More Like This
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Klarna’s laid-off workers are the latest casualty of tech’s cult of personality
By Connie Lin2 minute Read

In May, a team of spelunkers rappelled into the dark heart of a 630-foot-deep
sinkhole in China’s Guangxi region. Near the southern border, Guangxi is home to
a landscape of mountainous rock, formed into towering domes, etched with ridges,
and steeped in pools of jade-green water and a lush thick of trees.




It is among China’s most beautiful terrain. It is also marred by at least 30
giant, sunken swaths of earth—tiankeng, or “heavenly pits,” in Mandarin,
scattered like beads across the countryside.











But this newly discovered sinkhole—deep enough to swallow the U.S.’s tallest
national monument, the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis—houses an even
more majestic world. At its bottom, the expeditionists found a flourishing
prehistoric forest, with 130-foot-tall trees branching skyward to a faraway
circle of sunlight. Their roots dig into a tangled growth of forest floor that
could bury a person up to the shoulder.

Blooming amidst the flora and fauna are ferns, wild bananas, fig fruits, and
rare square-shaped bamboo shoots—one stalk with a large bite taken from it,
explorers told the Guangxi Daily news.



As described to Chinese news outlets, it sounds like a near-mythical realm—a
fantasy kingdom of Narnia, or the highlands of Middle Earth—and its promise for
biologists and geologists is no less thrilling. Scientists believe the forest
could harbor thus unknown plant or animal species, as sinkholes can offer an
oasis for botanical life. Such “ancient” or “primitive” ecosystems have never
been disturbed by humans. And they are natural jewels for study, offering a
glance at what our planet might’ve looked like in primeval times, devoid of
humankind’s intrusion.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves
that have never been reported or described by science until now,” Chen Lixin,
who led the trek through the sinkhole’s forest, told China’s Xinhua news.



Guangxi is one of the world’s richest treasure troves of karst topography—found
mostly in China, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea—where dramatic landscapes are
formed by eroding underground bedrock. In such climates, rainwater runs first
through soil—becoming gradually more acidic as it saps carbon dioxide from the
earth—and then flows through cracks in the bedrock, hollowing it away into
sprawling webs of limestone chambers, pillars, bridges, and tunnels. If the
chambers grow large enough, they collapse inward and a sinkhole is born.

According to NASA, 13% of China is karst topography, including the world’s
largest sinkhole, Xiaozhai Tiankeng, at 2,172 feet deep in Chongqing. Set upon
an enormous underground river, it also houses a robust forest ecosystem
connected to a network of caves, much like Guangxi’s site—which is named
Shenying Tiankeng, for the way its cliffside looms like a pair of soaring wings.



Scientists now seek to illuminate its untold secrets, hidden in the tiny
universes of heaven’s Earthly craters.









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 * FASTCO WORKS
   
   An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell
   brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens

FC Executive Board
collections


 * FAST GOVERNMENT
   
   The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good


 * MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
   
   Fast Company's annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact


 * MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE
   
   Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways


 * WORLD CHANGING IDEAS
   
   New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic
   system


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   Celebrating the best ideas in business

Newsletter
Events


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Courses and LearningAdvertiseCurrent Issue
Current Issue
SUBSCRIBE
Follow us:

advertisement

advertisement

 * 06-02-22


630 FEET BELOW THE EARTH IN CHINA, AN ANCIENT FOREST BLOOMS AT THE BOTTOM OF A
SINKHOLE


SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THE UNDERGROUND WORLD COULD BE TEEMING WITH SPECIES UNKNOWN
TO HUMANS.

A typical karst geological site in WuLong town, Chongqing, China. [Photo: Getty]
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

By Connie Lin2 minute Read

In May, a team of spelunkers rappelled into the dark heart of a 630-foot-deep
sinkhole in China’s Guangxi region. Near the southern border, Guangxi is home to
a landscape of mountainous rock, formed into towering domes, etched with ridges,
and steeped in pools of jade-green water and a lush thick of trees.

advertisement

advertisement



It is among China’s most beautiful terrain. It is also marred by at least 30
giant, sunken swaths of earth—tiankeng, or “heavenly pits,” in Mandarin,
scattered like beads across the countryside.



> A waterfall of 188 meters high and 30 meters wide in Guangxi, China.
> pic.twitter.com/rIcnMDR69i
> 
> — Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) April 21, 2022





> Xianggong Mountain is located between the Mural Hill and Yellow Cloth Shoal in
> Xingping Town of Yangshuo, Guangxi of China. Xianggong Mountain is about 28 km
> from Yangshuo and 57 km from Guilin. The mountain is a popular tourist
> destination beloved by enthusiastic photographers pic.twitter.com/ytAa2QW04X
> 
> — The Silk Road (@thesilkroad) May 24, 2022



advertisement


> Rice terraces in early morning mist in Guangxi, China | Photography by
> ©Thierry Bornier pic.twitter.com/TLIr79hcyR
> 
> — Piclogy (@Piclogy) April 5, 2022



But this newly discovered sinkhole—deep enough to swallow the U.S.’s tallest
national monument, the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis—houses an even
more majestic world. At its bottom, the expeditionists found a flourishing
prehistoric forest, with 130-foot-tall trees branching skyward to a faraway
circle of sunlight. Their roots dig into a tangled growth of forest floor that
could bury a person up to the shoulder.

Blooming amidst the flora and fauna are ferns, wild bananas, fig fruits, and
rare square-shaped bamboo shoots—one stalk with a large bite taken from it,
explorers told the Guangxi Daily news.

advertisement


> “Giant sinkhole with a forest inside found in China” https://t.co/oQ4bLL1cDY
> pic.twitter.com/csuUvxHNd3
> 
> — pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) May 11, 2022



As described to Chinese news outlets, it sounds like a near-mythical realm—a
fantasy kingdom of Narnia, or the highlands of Middle Earth—and its promise for
biologists and geologists is no less thrilling. Scientists believe the forest
could harbor thus unknown plant or animal species, as sinkholes can offer an
oasis for botanical life. Such “ancient” or “primitive” ecosystems have never
been disturbed by humans. And they are natural jewels for study, offering a
glance at what our planet might’ve looked like in primeval times, devoid of
humankind’s intrusion.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves
that have never been reported or described by science until now,” Chen Lixin,
who led the trek through the sinkhole’s forest, told China’s Xinhua news.

advertisement


> 30th giant karst sinkhole discovered in south China's Guangxi
> pic.twitter.com/52ZxFnyuWF
> 
> — CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) May 11, 2022



Guangxi is one of the world’s richest treasure troves of karst topography—found
mostly in China, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea—where dramatic landscapes are
formed by eroding underground bedrock. In such climates, rainwater runs first
through soil—becoming gradually more acidic as it saps carbon dioxide from the
earth—and then flows through cracks in the bedrock, hollowing it away into
sprawling webs of limestone chambers, pillars, bridges, and tunnels. If the
chambers grow large enough, they collapse inward and a sinkhole is born.

According to NASA, 13% of China is karst topography, including the world’s
largest sinkhole, Xiaozhai Tiankeng, at 2,172 feet deep in Chongqing. Set upon
an enormous underground river, it also houses a robust forest ecosystem
connected to a network of caves, much like Guangxi’s site—which is named
Shenying Tiankeng, for the way its cliffside looms like a pair of soaring wings.

advertisement


Scientists now seek to illuminate its untold secrets, hidden in the tiny
universes of heaven’s Earthly craters.



> The Xiaozhai Tiankeng (小寨天坑), also known as the Heavenly Pit, is the world's
> deepest sinkhole [read more: https://t.co/9YYHXG8iLi]
> pic.twitter.com/ebJsoWtYE2
> 
> — Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 11, 2021




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IMPACT

Impact


3 CHARTS THAT EXPLAIN THE U.S.’S NEW RECORDS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION

Impact


SOME STATES WANT TO RAISE THE AGE FOR ASSAULT RIFLE PURCHASES. WOULD THAT CURB
MASS SHOOTINGS?

Impact


IN THE DESERT, THESE SPRAWLING GREENHOUSES HELP DECARBONIZE HEAVY INDUSTRY


NEWS

News


WHY RAPPER MACKLEMORE SAYS CREATING HIS GOLF APPAREL BRAND IS A LOT LIKE MAKING
MUSIC

News


DOJA CAT, TACO BELL, MEXICAN PIZZA, AND THE MAKING OF A MARKETING UNICORN

News


WHY ARE SO MANY HIGH-INCOME AMERICANS LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK?


CO.DESIGN

Co.Design


SCHOOL SHOOTINGS ARE NOT A DESIGN ISSUE

Co.Design


THE SURPRISING PSYCHOLOGY OF FONTS

Co.Design


SEE HOW THE ICONIC AIRSTREAM HAS EVOLVED OVER THE PAST 90 YEARS


WORK LIFE

Work Life


THIS IS HOW TO SEE THE FUTURE (AND 5 WAYS TO BE READY FOR ANYTHING)

Work Life


FEELING FORGETFUL? HERE ARE 5 EASY WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY ACCORDING TO
SCIENCE

Work Life


YOUR REMOTE EMPLOYEES AREN’T DISLOYAL. THEY JUST NEED MORE OF THIS

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