Ancient forest discovered under sinkhole in China

The sinkhole was discovered by a caving team outside the village of Ping’e in Leye County, Guangxi Autonomous Region, southern China. Explorers descended into the pit in early May, where they found ancient trees and other vegetation.

Cave explorers informed the scientists when they found a sinkhole, which contained an entire primeval forest inside. Of the 30 sinkholes in Leye County, this is the largest with a length of 306m, a width of 150m and a depth of 192m. And according to the Chinese government, it is just one of 30 giant sinkholes in the district.

Scientists walked for hours to the bottom of the sinkhole to see what it contained. Mr. Chen Lixin, the leader of the expedition team, said that most of the dense trees were as high as his shoulders, but there were trees up to 40m high. “There are species in this cave that have not been discovered by science until now,” he said.

The landscape filled with sinkholes is known as the karst landscape, which is formed mainly by the breakdown of rocks by groundwater. This means dramatic sinkholes and caves are created all over the area. However, this giant hole is rare, because it is deep but has the right shape to let light in, meaning large trees can grow.