Swallow Ya

Swallow Ya – Mysterious Legend

Swallow Ya (strip of land between hills) is 2200 meters above the sea level. The Swallow Ya and the Tianmen Ya faces each other since one of them in the north and the other in the south. The Zizu River Valley which controls the traffic throat of the west part of Hubei province is under Swallow Ya. There are Huixian Bridge, Observation Deck, and Swallow Dancing Pavilion on the halfway up the west hill of Swallow Ya. The Huixian Bridge is said to be the place where Emperor Yan Shennongong met Laotse and persuaded him to change alchemy to metallurgy. The cedars at the end of the bridge standing there brave the cold wind and frost but still graceful and charming. The forests under the bridge are primitive but still full of vitality. Up to the Swallow Dancing Pavilion along the path, you can enjoy the special landscape in the primitive forest and have a bird-view of Taping Village and appreciate the magnificent sea clouds against the rail.

Swallow Ya – Swallow Cave

The famous Swallow Cave is located on the 1000 meters halfway up to the north-east hill of Swallow Ya and is 2343 meters above the sea level. With Ditch Ya in its north, you can reach the Swallow Cave if you up 50 meters from the road. The front part of the cave is pretty wide, covers an area of about 420 square meters. Enter into the cave; it will be narrower and darker, and you can even hear the swallows' sounds. Then move forward about 700 meters, there is no swallow any more. But you can hear the sound of water-dripping. You can not forward any more if you had move 3700 meters, you can only hear the gurgling sound, and have no idea about the origin of the cave. There is a cool summer and warm winter in the cave. There is also damp air and long flow spring. The walls of the cave are as clean and bright as the glass. Birds' nests hang on the dry places. There are steps and pavilions on the north-west ridges of Swallow Ya. Turn back your head and have a view of the cave, you can see swallows dancing. They are agile and skillful, sometimes they fly out and then fly in, and sometimes they fly high and fly low. After the rain, the swallows fly up high in the sunshine and up to the cloud. The mountains, swallows and clouds form a vigorous landscape. This kind of swiftlet is a variation of the ancient ocean swiftlet, it has a strong sense of location. It is a good material for the research of geology, archaeology, and taxonomy of birds.