Jiu Xiang (Yunnan, China) – 九乡（云南，中国）

About 120 kilometres from Kunming and 40 kilometres from Shilin, Jiu Xiang offers an amazing scenery of caves and deep gorges.  Jiu Xiang karst caves developed about 600 million years ago. There are over 100 caves in the area. The Jiu Xiang scenic area can be divided into five sites: The Rainbow Bridge , the Sanjiao cave, Dashaba, Alulong and the Moon Lake. Up to now, only the Rainbow Bridge site can be visited. You will go through Shilin on your way, so you can pack the two sites in a day if you leave Kunming early enough and are not scared of a long day. The caves are interesting; the stalactites and stalagmites are impressive, and the colours they are lit with are sort of cute. Two waterfalls called "The Twin Waterfalls" can be seen underground. There is also a deep gorge which you can visit on a boat. Be warned, on Sundays and on Chinese public holidays, the site is very busy with groups of Chinese tourists and you may have to wait patiently in line to get out of the caves. There are however almost no Western tourists there; they seem to prefer (or only be aware of) nearby Shilin. Many visitors prefer Jiu Xiang to Shilin.