Volcano Park (Haikou)

The Volcano Park [Photo/hkhsq.com]

The volcano park and its surrounding area have a history stretching back between 270,000 and 1,000,000 years when a series of volcanic eruptions formed this crater group. The tallest crater reaches a height of 222.2 meters above sea level and is 90 meters deep. It ranks among the world's most intact inactive volcanoes.

Because the crater looks like a horse's saddle, it is sometimes called "Ma'an Jing" which means horse saddle ridge in Chinese. It is also the highest point in northern Hainan. Ten or more smaller inactive volcanic craters and vents surround the Ma'an crater. As a result of the eruption, geologists regard the area as a museum for underground volcanic cave information. 

Perhaps the most spectacular of the caves here is the Daoist immortal Wolong. Even though it has yet to be fully developed, the visitor can still look around and explore it. The Daoist immortal caves are located about four kilometers from the Ma'an crater.

In the lava at the entrance of the cave, there are footprints of the immortals and an elaborate memorial carved in the stone. Over the last fifty years, people have cleared the silt from the cave and discovered polished stone tools such as hatchets and chisels that were probably used by our cave-dwelling ancestors. The Wolong cave lies about one kilometer from the main immortal caves and it is three-kilometers long, seven-meters high and ten-meters wide. The cave is large enough to hold over ten thousand people. 

Scenic Spot level: AAAA

Ticket price: 60 yuan ($9.07)

Tel: +86-898-65469668

Add: Shishan Town, Qingshan District, Haikou, Hainan

A bird's-eye view of the Volcano Park [Photo/hkhsq.com]