Now, I’m bringing you something mysterious!

They are in hillside and cliff wall!

You know? The surprises that the beautiful Shu (蜀) brought us is far more than the Sanxingdui Civilization(三星堆) and charming natural scenery. And maybe you know the land by Sichuan Opera, by panda, by Northern Sichuan Puppet (……). But, I don’t think you know these (图片).

When I was a little girl, I pointed up at a cave in an erect rock wall like these, and asked my grandma what that was. She told me its name is Manzi Cave(蛮子洞). And, as she said, even the oldest people in the village don’t know about who had dug the caves. It’s said that a creature named “Manzi”(蛮子) who lived in the caves long time ago. As a result, people called the caves “Manzi Cave”. At that a young age, I thought “Manzi” meant savage like this(图片).

In Sichuan and Chongqing, you can find many caves like these. As I know, the shape of the caves is rectangular, and the size of any of them is around 2 square meters. They are in erect hillside or in slopes where there are few visitors usually. Cautious parents often remind their kids to keep away from the dark caves, because there might be some snakes. Uh, I must tell you that there are many snakes in the place. One day of this summer holiday, I watched a report on TV, which was talking about a special cave found in a country in Sichuan. Exactly, it’s a burial chamber. Archeologists got many precious funerary goods. You don’t know how excited I was when I remember the similar entrance to caves I’ve seen.

Don’t you want to know what they are?

This(一篇报道) is a report about a Manzi Cave found in Chengdu. After studying with the ancient pottery and other funerary goods dug from the cave, the archeologists was sure that it’s a burial chamber made in Eastern Han Dynasty. As for the other empty caves around the ancient cave, they are used to keep sweet potatoes or act as biogas pools (沼气池).

Then, look this report. Some Manzi Cave was found in Qu (渠县). These caves are connected by some narrow passages. According to the research, people guessed they were used as houses or defenses against enemy.

Here let’s watch a short video. You can find maybe they are watch house(哨所). (视频)

And there are some pictures about its art works.

I searched many interpretations about the caves. Some said they are burial chambers. In fact, many ancient coins were discovered in or around some of the caves. Some said Manzi means horrible robbers, and the caves were villagers’ shelters.

To be honest, these evidences are not enough to make it clear that who made the caves and what the caves were. There are still too many secrets in the caves. They are waiting for you and me.

The speech is over, while the exploration is not. If you want to meet your curiosity, remember to protect yourself from snakes carefully!