Slim, bespectacled and speaking in gentle tones, it is hard to
associate this American girl working on her notebook PC with the
perilous life of a professional caver. In fact, she is more than
that as she helped to found Hong Meigui, a?cave exploration
society in China.
The differences between mountaineering and caving are more than
simply deciding whether to scale a lofty peak or plunge into the
bowels of the earth, explains 30-year-old Lynch. Caving poses more
challenges since you are advancing into an unknown world with no
knowledge of what you may come across, she adds while bringing up
CG shots of caves she has explored in China.
Furthermore, interjects her partner Duncan Collis, caving is far
more accessible since it is informal in nature. Cavers simply need
to be aware of safety methods and be thoroughly trained instead of
signing up with an expensive profit-earning mountaineering
group.?
Duncan Collis in Wulong,
Chongqing
The caves first called to Lynch back in 1998. As a member of
Cambridge University Caving Club, Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club
(Hong Meigui), Southern California Grotto, and the National
Speleological Society, she also volunteered for the Cave Research
Foundation. She has since traveled the world, caving in the US, the
UK, Ireland, Austria, Spain and Mexico.
In 2000, Lynch received a grant from the Durfee Foundation's
American/Chinese Adventure Capital Program to explore caves in
China for a year. Her love for the country blossomed and she
decided to stay here after her year concluded.?
32-year-old Collis began caving in 1994, also with the Cambridge
University Caving Club and has since become a member of the British
Cave Research Association.
Now, Lynch carries out research for the Guilin Karst Institute
while Collis teaches English, although both of them still spend
most of their time exploring and mapping out south China's
caves.
Lynch has been
mapping?caves in China for over six years
Collis explained: "For the past six years, we have been caving
in China as the caves here are so dramatic and varied."
Lynch added that 49 of the 73 documented tiankengs worldwide are
in China. A tiankeng refers to a large sinkhole, measuring at least
100 meters in diameter and 100 meters in depth. The Wulong Karst
boasts some of the world's finest examples of eroded and collapsed
tiankengs which, along with integrated morphologic features,
provide strong evidence of geological evolution.
Tiankeng
"The deepest cave system in China is also in Wulong: the Qikeng
Dong which reaches up to 920m in depth," Duncan recalled with
audible enthusiasm. "I spent five days down there and went over 800
meters down. When I surfaced, I had never found the freshness of
the air and the smell of grass so pleasant."?
What differentiates Lynch and Collis from common sports fans is
the whole-hearted devotion they have for caving, describing it as
more of a "career rather than a sport or hobby."
Back in 2001, Lynch and two friends founded Hong Meigui, an
international society dedicated to exploring caves in China with
Collis coming on board a year later. Since its inception, members
of the society have mapped over 245 kilometers of cave passages
including China's three deepest potholes and the largest and
deepest conglomerate cave in the country.
Hong Meigui supported by the Durfee Foundation has now grown to
include 100 members from 14 countries. Another impetus is provided
by the scientific research that Hong Meigui's caving enthusiasts
carry out.
In 2001, Lynch and Collis met Prof. Zhu Xuewen, chairman of the
Geological Association of China's Speleology Committee, who found
the Wulong Houping Tiankengs, the first eroded tiankengs in the
world. Prof. Zhu has been involved in collating scientific data on
the Furong Dong/Furong Jiang, Sanqiao Natural Bridges and Houping
Erosional Tiankengs, the three component parts of the Wulong Karst
which have jointly applied for World Natural Heritage status along
with Shilin Karst in Yunnan and Libo Karst in Guizhou.
From this fortunate meeting, Lynch and Collis began working for
the local government in mapping the cave complexes.?
Anyone interested in following this intrepid duo's explorations,
along with other members of the Red Roses, can visit their website
(www.hongmeigui.net) which is updated with their latest expedition
developments.
"The website contains statistical details about the caves we
explore, the rare minerals they contain and the sub-surface fauna
living there such as blind fish and loach," revealed Lynch, adding
that it also acts as a log to inform the worldwide speleological
community about the latest developments in their research and
surveying.?
The Wulong County officials welcome foreign cavers, and so do
the local villagers who have helped find several nearby caves,
revealed Collis.
"People here are pretty friendly and helpful such as when we
visited Zhonglin Village and Erwang Dong Village, they came forward
to show us the caves," he noted, adding that the villagers realize
the potential tourism appeal of the caves.
Dine with the
locals
However, Collis cautioned, tourism in the area must be developed
conscientiously in order to preserve fragile and unique biological
and environmental eco-systems.
So far, Wulong seems to be heeding this sage advice. Only half
of Furong Dong cave passages are open to the public; 2.5 km of the
Sanqiao gorge are open with the rest closed off for protection;
while Houping has wholly remained an isolated farming community.
Furthermore, in the interests of conservation, the local government
has created a heritage management office to supervise the area
along with the annual 13 million yuan protection fund budget.
South China Karst will be considered at the 31st World Heritage
Conference occurring in late June in New Zealand, but a victory has
already been secured since obtaining a spot on the list
automatically secures better protection, raising the fragile
eco-system above a mere popular tourist landmark.
Their work on the Wulong Karst application to the World Heritage
has now ended but Lynch and Collis' passion will not end here.
Lynch will now return to California to finish her graduate thesis
in June while Collis will fly down under for new challenges in
freshly-discovered Austrian caves. However, their fascination with
China's caves will see them come back before long.
"We can't afford either a space trip or a submarine adventure.
Caving was our only choice," joked Lynch.
More caving photos contributed by Lynch:
(China.org.cn by staff reporter Li Xiao, April 18, 2007)
