Down in the Depths.docVIP

Down in the Depths 　　Eleven minutes. That’s how much time we managed to take descending into the cave before they caught up with us. We’d slipped away from our tour guide after being told by another to stand awkwardly for half an hour and wait for an unspecified “something.” Impatient， we slid through some open， unattended doors and carefully ambled down a damp staircase using our cell phone screens for light. What we saw in the gloom thrilled us. It was a cave， we reveled， just like in the photos！ 　　However， no sooner had we made our way past the first rack of stalactites， we heard it： the warbling， saccharine music piped in from the outside. Then， everything was suddenly bathed in Technicolor lights. We blinked， and our exasperated tour guide emerged behind us， breathless， her face contorted with a mixture of panic and rage. 　　It took a few minutes of concentration before she let fly. “What were you doing down here？”she exploded with the irate energy of a scolding parent. “We told you to wait for a guide ?C what would you do if there’s an accident， huh？” Realizing our recklessness， I tried to calm her down， explaining that we were simply pressed for time and wanted to get through the cave quickly. We knew it was northern China’s largest cave and didn’t know how much time we needed to fully explore it. “Fine，” our guide grunted， “but be careful. And don’t think that anybody’s going to take responsibility for you if you keep this up.” Cave tourism is all the rage in China 　　 We’d hear that line again. 　　It is true that Yinhu Dong， or Silver Fox Cave， just outside Beijing， is northern China’s largest cave. Discovered after coal miners blew out the roof of the cavern in 1991， the cave was quickly identified as a potential tourist goldmine， and opened to the public two years later. The location is ideal for day-trippers escaping Beijing’s teeming streets， a winding hour-plus venture into the mountains west of the city. The underground temperature is cool yea