Yellow Dragon Cave in Hangzhou

Yellow Dragon Cave in Hangzhou

Yellow Dragon Cave Facts

Yellow Dragon Cave Scenic Area is in the north of the West Lake, opposite the Huanglong Sports Center. It is also called “Huanglongdong Yuanyuan Folk Garden” and is an old scenic spot in Hangzhou. It is not only a good city park, but also a place where locals and tourists often come to seek marriage. In addition, there is a stage in the scenic area, and there are often opera performances. 

Chinese Name: 黄龙洞

Type: Nature & Caves

Address: 2 Huang Long Lu, Xihu Qu, Hangzhou Shi, Zhejiang Sheng, China

Best Seasons: All year round; Spring and autumn best.

Recommended Visiting Hours: about 2-3 hours

Opening Hours: 7:30-17:30

Ticket: RMB 15

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Why is Yellow Dragon Cave So Special?

  1. The Hangzhou Lingshan Cave is the only Karst cave found in the Hangzhou city proper. It is also widely regarded as the best cave in the West Lake district. The lake offers an amazing natural combination of wind, water, and air all in one place. It has plenty of ridges and peaks that make up a wonderful natural display that can amaze even veteran cavers.
  2. Also called as the Lingshan Fairyland, it truly is a great place for an adventure set in nature. The Hangzhou Lingshan Cave is located 19-kilometers to the southwest of downtown Hangzhou. It has been known to the Chinese people for more than 1,500 years now. Due to its location, it is quite easy to access, which helps make it an even more popular tourist destination in Hangzhou.

Brief Introduction of Yellow Dragon Cave

Yellow Dragon Cave (Chinese name: 黄龙洞) Hangzhou locates at the northern foot of Qixia Ridge in the Shuguang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. It is different from the Yellow Dragon Cave in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China. One of the new top ten scenic spots in West Lake area called Yellow Dragon Cave Dressed in Green is sited right in this scenic spot. The well-known historic site – Huguo Renwang Temple is also in this place. Walking along the hill road, tourists can see the history site of the Yellow Dragon Cave, where was a treasure land for Taoism. From South Song dynasty, Yellow Dragon Cave was regarded as one of the top five places in West Lake scenic area for holding worship ceremony to dragon. 

Legend of Yellow Dragon Cave

It’s said that there were an old and a young yellow dragon living in the cave. One day, the old yellow dragon came up the brutal part in his nature, and tried to spew fire to fire Hangzhou city. The young yellow dragon led the residences to fight the fire, pouring the water in West Lake into the cave. Finally, the old dragon was drowned and they successively put out the fire. However, the young dragon died in this fight. People buried it with tears, and the tear infiltrated into its heart, then flowed out from its mouth. Hence, a small fall out flowed from its grave. In memory of the young dragon, people shaped a statue of yellow dragon at the site of its grave, and then named it Yellow Dragon Cave. Since Qing dynasty, it’s one of the famous sites for Taoism in Hangzhou, and it has been well preserved so far.

Main Attractions of Yellow Dragon Cave

The gate of the Yellow Dragon Cave is very simple, on which inscribed with an antithetical couple. The scenes in the yard are half-artificial and half natural. The main scenic spot in the yard are Pavilion of Fragrant Snow, Pavilion of Standing Crane, and a dragon head molded on a cliff. The dragon’s head is the hero of the yard. Spring water comes out of the dragonhead and flows into the pond below.

Beside the pond stands a stone, on which inscribed with eight Chinese characters meaning, “If there is dragon in the pond, it will be charming. So, the depth of the pond is unimportant”.

The Bamboo Garden, which is opposite the Vermilion Corridor, is unique in the Yellow Dragon Cave. In the garden grows a great variety of bamboo, such as 33-meters high mao bamboo, several-inch-high white bamboo, purple bamboo, green bamboo with golden dots, square bamboo and so on.

Recommended Tour Packages

Best Seasons to Visit Hangzhou

  • Many people in China believe that spring and autumn are the two best seasonsto visit Hangzhou, specially late March-May and September-mid November.
  • In these seasons, temperature is warm but not hot. Daytime temperature ranges from mid 10s to mid 20s centigrade, and night time temperature ranges from low 10s to low 20s.
  • Spring is the best season to visit the West Lakebecause all kinds of flowers are blossoming that time. In order: plum blossom, peach blossom, and cherry blossom.
  • Autumn is also very nice and my favorite because of the yellow and red leaves.
  • However, I suggest avoiding the last week of September and the first 2 weeks of October because that’s when the city becomes packed with tourists from the golden week holidays.

How to get to Yellow Dragon Cave From Hangzhou

Travel with ChinaDragonTours (top recommended)

If you want to get out of the traffic and hassle of navigation, you can book a private tour package that includes visiting, dining and transfer from us. Our local guide and driver will escort you to Yellow Dragon Cave in Hangzhou in the fastest and most convenient way and take care of all the details. You just have to focus on the visiting.

Independent Traveler

You may take Bus Route No.16, 23, 28, 37, 101, 130, 228, 307, 318 or 807 in Hangzhou downtown to Yellow Dragon Cave Station, then walk for about 300 meters to reach the cave area. It is recommended to spend one hour to visit the cave area.

If you are interested in Chinese gardens or local folk and custom, it is suggested to visit this special attraction in Hangzhou.

Useful Travel Tips

  1. Avoid visiting during school holidays and Golden Week in October as there will be large numbers of local tourists.
  2. Accommodation
    There are hotels both inside and outside the scenic area. It’s close to West Lake. You can also choose to book a hotel near West Lake.
  3. Tel: +86 571 8796 9588
  4. After visiting the yard, you can also taste the local flavors, such as Tianhua Steamed Stuffed Dumplings, Ten-Flavor Dumpling Soup, Steam Cake, and so on. People said that these flavors were very popular in Song Dynasty (960 ~ 1279A.D.).
  5. You can also listen to the ancient Chinese music in the pavilion. This antique yard can make your travel more interesting.

Nearby Attractions

Edited by Bella Ren/任新月