The mystery, which continues to amaze scientists from many disciplines, is the Longyou Caves, located near the village of Shi-only Beichun in the Chinese province of Zhejiang. This mysterious underground city with 36 cave halls, stone bridges and pools is rightly considered the eighth wonder of the world. Yet it was forgotten for many centuries, and only in 1992 did one inquisitive local villager discover them. Since then, caves have raised more questions than satisfactory answers.

1. How could ancient builders prove it?

Carved into a relatively hard dustcloth, the cave reaches a depth of about 30 meters and has flat walls and ceilings that are supported by high stone pillars. It is supposed that something like this could arise, and almost a million cubic meters of stone had to be extracted! Scientists have calculated that at least sixty years ago, around a thousand people had to work there. But they only took hard manual work and did not include a fine, precise and symmetrical decoration of cave spaces. In fact, the amount of work done was even greater.

Caves with draped walls and ceilings, high columns and stone staircases are very spacious, rugged and contain many special structures.

2. Why are there no written reports?

None of the scientists are aware of the technical means and methods used by the builders, as no single forgotten tool was found in the caves. You will also find no trace of any construction work, although there were millions of cubes of stone here. It is also strange that such a huge complex, whose construction cost a lot of work and had to last for several years, has never been mentioned in any of the historical sources!

Columns are high over 10 meters.

3. Why are all caves so carefully decorated with the same patterns?

Each cave is covered from the ceiling to the bottom by parallel lines, carved at regular and accurate intervals into each wall and stone column. There had to be a lot of work, male power, and infinitely many hours. But why? Did this uniform decor have any symbolism? All we know is that ceramics found in the surrounding area, dating from the 500 to 800 years before Christ, were also decorated with similar patterns.

In the caves there are several artificial underground lakes.

4. Why the lakes?

When the cave was first discovered, some of its rooms were flooded with water, which probably stood there for a very long period of time. Only after the water from the cave space had been drained was it found that it was not natural lakes similar to those in the adjacent area and which the local people call "bottomless ponds". You are very deep and the fish are literally swarming in them. But there was no fish discovered in any of the deep cave lakes, nor was there any other sign of water life. At the same time, the water in the lake was so clear that it was clear to see its very bottom!

Up to now, only two caves have been available. The others are overwhelmed by mud and the Chinese are working to cleanse them.

5. How are the caves so perfectly preserved?

While the surrounding countryside has seen numerous floods, calamities and wars in the last few centuries, underground cave structures have remained intact for two millennia! You will not find any signs of collapse, no heaps of rubble or any other damage, which is because the walls of the cave rooms are thin only 50 centimeters, something incredible. The decoration of the walls is as clear and clear as if the cave was built yesterday!

Some say it may have been planned to link individual caves.

6. How did the workers shine when they did not use fire?

Because of the depths of the cave, ancient builders had to shine through their demanding and precise work. "They had to have lamps, because the entrance to the cave is very small, so that the sun's rays could penetrate into the cave only at a certain angle and at a certain time. When it went deeper into the cave, the light dimmed, and there was hardly anything to see at the bottom of the cave, "said Jia Gang professor at Tongji University. But at the time of two thousand years ago, people could only shine with trumpets. However, no trace of fire or smoke was found in caves.

Some believe that the underground space was created by aliens.

7. Why are Caves Not Linked?

What's special is that all 36 caves are spread over an area of ​​only one square kilometer. Due to such a high density, the thinness of the walls and the appearance of the cave are remarkably similar, they are not interconnected. On the contrary, it seems that the original intention of their builders was to build them separate. However, we do not know why.

It is strange that in China with 5 thousands of years of ancient culture, such a remarkable construction work was forgotten.

8. Who built them?

Some scientists have stated that it is impossible and illogical to take on a volunteer task on a giant task. Only a mighty ruler or power group could organize this mammoth project that does not fit in with the Great Wall of China, which the Chinese emperor had set up to defend his country. It has one hook. If the Emperor ordered this building, why is there no written mention of her?

There are also many not very thick stone walls in the cave. Why were they not removed, instead of being left in the midst of huge atriums?

9. How could they achieve such precision?

The caves are incredibly similar in their layout, style and decor. They are in the form of large halls with smaller rooms around them, which are characterized by straight and equally strong walls with distinct edges and corners. The caves are separated from each other, so the builders could not see what the others were doing. Still, if the walls were crawling, the lines carved into the walls would be parallel to each other until they were accurate. Masons needed advanced measuring instruments. "They had to have some sketches showing the size and spatial location and distance between the caves," says Yang Hongxun of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The entrance to the caves is narrow and the underground spaces are so lightly lit.

10. What did the cave complex actually serve?

So far, none of the experts who have dealt with this fundamental question has provided a compelling answer. One might have been the graves of the old emperors or the secret government premises, or the huge warehouse. However, no remains of the body and burial equipment, nor any trace of these areas, have been found. Another hypothesis is that rare minerals have been mined here, but it is strange that all the caves are so precisely decorated. Last but not least, it was claimed that the Emperor had put down his troops into the underground, for example from the wrath of rebellious peasants, or to conceal the army preparing for the war. But this theory contradicts the fact that the complex did not build up immediately, but its construction took several years. Besides - and that's the most amazing thing - there was no trace of human activity anywhere in the cave!

Mysterious caves range from 29 ° 39 ′ 34 “to 29 ° 47 ′ 7“ north latitude and are the only cave group found at 30 ° north latitude.

Mystical line

To keep it a little, even mysteriophosts who came to see the cave lying close to 30 came to mind. the northern latitude, where all the centers of old civilizations, the Egyptian pyramids, the Noah's Ark, the Himalayas or the equally mysterious Bermuda Triangle are!