A recent scientific expedition ushered in the discovery of an ancient hidden forest located within a sinkhole in China.
The secret forest is located more than 600 feet inside a sinkhole that is situated within karst bedrock near a village in Leye County, Guangxi Zhuang.
The sinkhole is apparently one of at least 30 in the country. The researcher found three different cave entrances on May 6.
The sinkhole is 492ft (150m) wide and has a volume of more than five million cubic metres. While the entire network of caverns is approximately 1,004ft (306m).
Zhang Yuanhai, a senior engineer with the Institute of Karst Geology of China Geological Survey, spoke with Xinhua news agency. According to him, the sinkhole contains an incredibly well-preserved and primitive forest with trees stretching as high 130ft (40m) tall.
Chen Lixin, leader of the Guangxi 702 expedition, told Live Science that he “wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are species 😜 found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now”.
