A peek at China’s mysterious sinkhole

World
Europe

A team of scientists on Monday descended to the bottom of one sinkhole for the first time in northwest China's Hanzhong City for a close observation and investigation, an important step in the scientific exploration – which started since May – of the world’s largest sinkhole cluster.

The members of the exploration team, from both home and abroad, climbed down to one of the key sinkholes named “Tianxuan” (Sky Cliff) to unveil its mysteries, which also marks the beginning of the second phase of the investigation.

Surrounded by cliffs, the Tianxuan sinkhole is in the shape of an upside-down bowl, with a depth of over 180 meters and a diameter of 120 meters at the top. During the sweating climb, the scientists saw stalactites and water in the sinkhole.

The scientist plunging into the “Tianxuan” sinkhole with an around-180-meter rope /CCTV Photo

The Hanzhong sinkhole cluster is a great discovery of geological relics in China and also in the world in recent years. A total of 54 holes have been discovered, accounting for one-fourth of all natural sinkholes in the world.

During the past week, scientists have conducted detailed research on several sinkholes and discovered large-scale underground caverns and rivers in the middle of the cluster, which suggests that the sinkholes do not exist in isolation.

The discovery lays a foundation for further exploration where the scientists are going to learn how the sinkholes formed and the effects they have on local nature environment.

The scientists will also search for quartz stone in the sinkholes, based on which they can infer the rough age of the sinkholes.

Click here to watch the live streaming of the exploration of the 200-meter-deep sinkhole.