[2025 Jianshui Attraction] Travel Guide for Jianshui Swallows'Cave (Updated Mar)

Yunnan's Jianshui is a true hidden gem, and I'm here to tell you why you absolutely have to check out the Jianshui Swallow Cave! Stepping into the Swallow Cave is like entering a mystical subterranean world. The cave's stalactites take on a thousand bizarre and wonderful forms. Some resemble hanging swords, others ethereal fairies. Bathed in the light, they radiate captivating colors, a testament to the awe-inspiring power of nature. Of course, a Swallow Cave wouldn't be complete without swallows! Tens of thousands of swallows nest and dwell here, circling and soaring through the air, their lively chirping filling the cave. It's said that every year, at the cusp of spring and summer, the swallows put on a breathtaking "flight performance"—a truly spectacular sight. Beyond its natural wonders, the Swallow Cave also offers a unique glimpse into local culture. Here, you can witness local nest collectors scaling the sheer cliffs barehanded. Their incredible skill is astonishing and offers a poignant understanding of their challenging livelihood. 🎫 Ticket prices are very affordable, offering excellent value! A complete tour takes about 2–3 hours. I recommend setting off in the morning for better lighting and photo opportunities. 📍 Getting there is easy. From Jianshui Ancient City, you can take a taxi or a dedicated shuttle bus directly to the cave. Seriously, the Jianshui Swallow Cave is a must-see! Whether you're drawn to the wonders of nature or the allure of unique cultural experiences, it promises an unforgettable journey. Just do it!

Jianshui Swallow Cave is a tourist destination integrating natural wonders and cultural landscapes, suitable for visiting in all seasons. Basic Information Opening Hours: 09:00-17:00 Ticket Price: Adult 52 yuan, Student 28 yuan Attraction Level: National AAAA Tourist Attraction Suitable Visiting Season: All year round, especially from May to July, when you can see the spectacular sight of millions of swallows leaving and returning to their nests. Tour Route and Attraction Introduction Park and Shengxian Archway: After entering the scenic area, you will pass through a large park with buildings such as the Shengxian Archway. Walk along the small road on the right side of the park, passing by attractions such as the Nine-Bend Corridor and the Sanqing Palace, and finally arrive at the entrance of Swallow Cave. Dry Cave and Water Cave: Swallow Cave is divided into two parts: the Dry Cave and the Water Cave. The Dry Cave has abundant stalactites and rock carvings, while the Water Cave requires a boat tour. The scenery inside the cave is magnificent, and the stalactites are in various shapes and forms. Swallows Leaving and Returning to Nests: From May to July every year, you can see the spectacular sight of millions of swallows leaving and returning to their nests. The best viewing time is before 9:00 am and after 5:00 pm. Tour Suggestions Best Visiting Time: Avoid the hot midday hours and choose to visit in the afternoon. The cave is cool and pleasant. Taking Photos: You can enjoy rock climbing performances at the cave entrance and take two free photos at the top of the cave entrance. You can also pick up photos as souvenirs in the third scenic area. Family-Friendly: The paths inside the cave are relatively flat, suitable for family outings, but pay attention to safety. Return Trip: You can choose to return by boat (about 1.5 hours), and enjoy the beautiful lake and mountain scenery along the way. Transportation Information It is only 30 km from Jianshui County to Swallow Cave Scenic Area, and navigation can lead you there. It is recommended to plan your time in advance to avoid traffic jams during peak hours.

📍22 kilometers east of Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. 🕙Business hours: 9:00-17:00. ☀️Tickets: Adult tickets are around 52 yuan, including return boat tickets to the cave. 🍲Recommended dishes: ***Jianshui braised tofu***: crispy on the outside ☀️, tender and smooth on the inside. ***Jianshui Zitao🌟Steamed Meat***: The meat is tender and fragrant. ***Bird's Nest Crisp***: Crispy, sweet and delicious. 📸 Check-in attractions: 1. Cave entrance 🏔️Cliff: The entrance 🌇cliff of Yanzi Cave is the first stunning landscape that comes into view after tourists arrive at the scenic spot. 2. Cliff carvings: When you enter the dry cave, the first thing that catches your eye is the numerous cliff carvings, which are distributed on the cave walls and stone pillars. Most of them were carved in the Qing Dynasty and have extremely high historical and cultural value. 3. Stalactite 🏞️ wonders: The stalactites 🌄 in the cave are in various shapes and forms, which are breathtaking 🎑. 4. Water cave rafting: After coming out of the dry cave 🏙️, tourists can take a small boat 🏞️ to visit the water cave. 🎊🎊

Swallow Cave is a national scenic area and a 4A-level tourist attraction located in the mountains and valleys 22 km east of Jianshui County. It is named after the hundreds of thousands of white-rumped swifts that nest in the cave and the edible bird's nests that are produced there. Swallow Cave is famous for its unique landscapes, including ancient cave wonders, swarms of swallows, cliff carvings, stalactites, and the art of harvesting bird's nests. The scenic area covers 18.85 hectares and consists of natural forest, a dry cave religious culture area, and a water cave. The dry cave is famous for its unique cultural landscapes, including cliff carvings, cliff corridors, and swarms of swallows, while the water cave is famous for its rich karst landscapes. If you like this kind of thing, be sure to visit Swallow Cave when you come to Jianshui.

Compared to popular destinations, I prefer distinctive and less-known places. Yunnan has a city with profound cultural heritage—Honghe Jianshui🏯 Here, not only can you find a massive ancient city, numerous ancient buildings, and many ancient bridges, but also spectacular karst caves, the small trains of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, and a rich array of cultural and natural landscapes, along with characteristic barbecue and reasonable prices🎉 After visiting enough internet-famous spots, a place with a slow pace, full of cultural heritage and the atmosphere of daily life is worth visiting‼️ Take a few days to organize a good travel plan and consider saving it❗ . 🚌How to get there 🚗High-speed train: There are bullet trains from Kunming to Jianshui, 2H 🚗Self-driving: The highway is also very convenient, only 2.5H drive from Kunming. . 🗺Travel Guide 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝟏: Kunming➠Jianshui Ancient City, Confucian Temple➠Zhilin Temple➠Zhu Family Garden➠Chaoyang Tower➠Ancient Wells Group, etc.➠Xiaogui Lake 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝟐: Lin'an Train Station➠Shuanglong Bridge➠Xianghuiqiao Station➠Tuanshan Village➠Swallow Cave➠Return trip . ✅✅✅Recommended Visits 📌Confucian Temple Built during the Yuan Dynasty, it is grand in scale and well-preserved. It is the third-largest Confucian temple in the country. Ticket: 38 . 📌Zhilin Zen Temple Built in 1295, it has been around for more than 700 years and is a rare well-preserved ancient wooden structure from the Yuan Dynasty. It also houses two Ming Dynasty Buddhist fine-line murals. Ticket: Free . 📌Zhu Family Garden Known as the Grand View Garden of the southwestern frontier, the layout of the houses is orderly, and the courtyards are layered, forming a maze-like architectural complex. The garden design is also very impressive. Ticket: 35 · 📌Ancient Wells Group Jianshui has a large number of ancient wells, some located in busy markets, some hidden in private houses, in various shapes, and they are still used by locals for daily water fetching. Ticket: Free . 📌Chaoyang Tower A landmark of Jianshui, built during the Ming Dynasty. Not only is it grand in scale, but the dougong brackets and plaques on the city tower are also very interesting, especially the night view. Ticket: Free . 📌Xiaogui Lake A small lake next to the ancient city, surrounded by various teahouses and bars, full of the atmosphere of daily life. Ticket: Free . 📌Lin'an Train Station An ancient train station on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, both the exterior and interior have retained the style of the Republic of China, very picturesque. You can also take the meter-gauge train to visit attractions such as Shuanglong Bridge and Tuanshan Village. Ticket: Free . 📌Shuanglong Bridge A spectacular seventeen-arch ancient bridge, with smooth bluestone slabs and exquisitely designed pavilions, it is even more beautiful at sunset. Ticket: Free . 📌Xianghuiqiao Station An even more niche ancient train station, with mottled French-style station buildings and swaying plane trees, it feels like being transported to Europe in a second. Ticket: Free . 📌Tuanshan Village A treasure trove of ancient residential buildings, dozens of well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty houses, a visual feast. Ticket: 35 . 📌Swallow Cave A spectacular karst cave, where you can also watch thrilling performances of harvesting swallow nests. Ticket: 55 . 🏠Accommodation | Jianshui Chuxi Homestay ✔Close to Lin'an Station, very convenient to walk to the ancient city ✔Clean and tidy, with many surrounding amenities . 🥙【Food Recommendations】 ▪Jianshui Renjia: The environment is average, but the steam pot chicken is very fragrant ▪Yaojia Barbecue: A very characteristic Jianshui barbecue ▪Xianghuiqiao Station Restaurant: A restaurant built inside an ancient train station, with great scenery and atmosphere . 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 🔸If you have enough time, you can combine trips to Mengzi and Shiping for a visit

The Swallow Cave in Jianshui is named for the millions of white-bellied swiftlets that nest in the cave, and the high-quality bird's nest produced there. The Swallow Cave is known worldwide for its unique landscapes such as 'ancient cave wonders, spring swallows gathering, rock carvings, stalactites hanging plaques, and bird's nest harvesting skills'. The scenic area covers 18.85 hectares. The entire tourist area consists of natural forest land, dry cave religious culture area, and water cave. The dry cave is known for its unique cultural landscapes such as rock carvings, cliff corridors, and spring swallows gathering; the water cave is known for its rich karst landscapes. The tour takes about 2 hours.

Jianshui, an ancient city with a thousand years of history, is located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. With its beautiful scenery and abundant resources, it is a worthwhile tourist destination💯. When you come to Jianshui, you must not miss the various delicacies here🍲. Jianshui tofu is one of the local specialties, with a delicate taste and delicious flavor. In addition, Jianshui also has many other delicacies, such as steam pot chicken, grass sprouts, swallow nest pastry, etc., to satisfy your taste buds😋. In addition to the food, there are many historical and cultural attractions in Jianshui worth seeing. Jianshui Confucius Temple is one of the iconic buildings here and a national key cultural relics protection unit. There are also many ancient buildings and streets, such as Chaoyang Tower, Zhu Family Garden, Xuezheng Examination Hall, etc., allowing you to feel the historical and cultural heritage of Jianshui📸. If you like natural scenery, Jianshui will not disappoint you. There are many beautiful natural landscapes here, such as Swallow Cave, Tuan Mountain Houses, Seventeen-hole Bridge, etc., allowing you to feel the charm of nature🌳. Jianshui also has many local characteristic activities, such as Jianshui folk songs, lanterns, dragon and lion dances, etc., allowing you to better understand the local culture and customs🎉. 🚌🏨Travel guide: You can take a plane to Mengzi Airport near Jianshui Ancient City, or take a train to Jianshui Station.🚆🚉 💰💲Ticket guide: Some attractions require tickets, such as Zhu Family Garden, Confucius Temple, etc., it is recommended to understand the ticket prices in advance.💰💲 🍃🌼Accommodation guide: There are many hotels and homestays near Jianshui Ancient City, you can choose according to your needs and budget.🍃🌼 🔍🔧Play guide: It is recommended to reserve 2-3 days for visiting Jianshui Ancient City to fully experience the charm of the ancient city.🔍🔧 In summary, Jianshui is a charming tourist destination. Whether you like food, history and culture, or natural scenery, it can meet your needs. Come to Jianshui and start an unforgettable journey!🎈

Cave in Jianshui, Honghe in Yunnan named ‘Swallow Cave’. It’s named after birds that nest in the cave in large quantities. We made a quick stop on our road trip to explore the cave real quick, however we underestimated the actual length of this cave. We spent a few hours exploring the paths of the cave, at which end there are restaurants and other attractions - which I would never expected to be found in a cave, but yep, there they are. The cave is an interesting place and I would suggest it as one of the stops on your Yunnan road-trip. Getting there by public buses might be not very convenient. Comfy shoes, and be ready for some exploring. #yunnan #cave

Jianshui Swallow Cave is located in Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is famous for its unique landscapes such as Golden Cave Wonders, Chunyan Clouds, Rock Rock Carvings, Bell Milk Hanging, and Bird's Nest Stunts. The name of the swallow hole is also named after a million large white-waisted swallow nests in the cave and rich in nourishing bird's nest. When we walked to the entrance of the swallow, we looked down at the water in the hole and parked a few beautiful boats. There were many stalactites in the hole and we could see the shape of the swallow's nest. It looked very beautiful. The hole is more than 50 meters high and more than 30 meters wide. The special place of the swallow hole is divided into one up and one wet, which can be walked from the dry road or by boat. At the entrance of Jianshui Swallow Cave, in addition to seeing the stalactite drops above the hole, it is even more amazing that there is a stalactite cave with the characteristics of the Swallow Cave. The rock climbing master does not have any safety protection measures and climbing tools. In the case of the hand, climbing up to the top of the cave, there are a lot of good fortune. Every year on March 21 of the solar calendar, the Yanzi Cave will hold this event. The entire hanging event usually lasts an hour or two. Most visitors to the Swallow Cave will see the rock climbers free performances. There is no protective measure. It can be said that they are performing with life. These rock climbers who used to take birds nests have now become stunts for tourists, but still More amazing. We walked along the dry road beside the river in the cave, the temperature became cool, and we heard the sound of water and water droplets in the cave. It is praised by the Chinese and foreign lava experts as the largest and most spectacular cave in Asia. The swallow hole is also spectacular. The total area is more than 50,000 square meters, the length of the cave is more than 4,000 meters, and the Lancang River passes through the hole. The Yanzi Cave is roughly divided into three major scenic spots, namely, Longquan Exploration, Tianjie Beauty and Dream World. Like many scenic spots, there will be such a scene as the treasure of the town shop. Double elephant sipping should be one of them. It is in the first scenic spot Longquan, and there is also Dragon Girls first marriage and More than ten landscapes such as the Golden Retriever Lion, the Yaotai Site, and the Taoyuan Shengjing.