The Silver Fox Cave is a network of underground caves, with a freshwater river system beneath. It is a geological beauty consisting of many limestone formations resembling icons such as The Great Wall of China, Statue of Chairman Mao, A Praying Sea Lion, Corn hanging from the Ceiling and A Mother carrying a Child. Colourful lights are used to highlight the icons. However these structures pale in comparison to the Star in the cave. It is a white "furry" rock structure resembling a fox, which explains the name of the cave.
The ticket for the cave includes a Mandarin Guided Tour, a Boat Ride and Tram Ride which does not take you to the surface. You still have to climb a long flight of stairs to exit! Do not worry if you do not understand Mandarin, as there are English signs beside the rocks. During the Summer months there is a contrast between the outside and internal temperature of the cave, so please bring a light cardigan. Renting a cardigan is an option, if you don't mind using a garment worn by many people.
Picture of Boat Ride, Flight of Stairs and Walk way in the cave
To get to the cave is an adventure of its own!
There are two ways to get there
1)Bus No 917北 from Tianqiao to Silver Fox Cave.
2)Bus No 948 from Pingguoyuan to Fouzizhuang and a 1-2km walk to the site
We caught bus 948 from the bus stop outside 苹果园(Píngguǒ Yuán = Apple Garden) subway station. Just ask around if you cannot locate the bus stop. Do not be deceived by the name 苹果园, there are no 苹果树(Píngguǒ shù = Apple Trees) there! There may not be 苹果树 there, but that area is famous for pickpockets, so do watch your belongings!
During the weekends, the bus frequency is approx 1 1/2 hours. We reached the bus stop around 8am and had to wait slightly over an hour for the bus. While you wait for the bus, be prepared to be harassed by touts. Here are two tactics which they used on us 1)They told us that the bus wouldn't come and when that trick didn't work 2)They told us that we were wasting time waiting for the bus and it would be faster to just take their cab. My friend was so irritated with the touts that she told them off - 你知道你多么烦！像乌鸦一样kwa kwa 的叫! (Do you know you are as irritating as a CROW!)The bus came around 10am and it took us about 2 hours to reach the Fou Zi Zhuang stop(银狐洞). In total we took about 3 hours to reach the entrance! We spent about 1 1/2 hours in the cave and waited for the bus back to 苹果园 at 4pm.
View along the 1-2km walk
our 导游 who followed us all the way to the cave and back to the main road to wait for the bus!
When you board the bus
1) Double confirm with the driver that the bus will take you to 银狐洞
2) Ask him to notify you when it is time to alight (Fou Zi Zhuang Stop)
Picture of surrounding area of the bus stop
3) Please check the timing of the bus heading from the end stop back to 苹果园. Try and catch the earliest possible bus.
*Eg:Give yourself sufficient time to wait for the bus at 银狐洞 stop. Don't lose track of time! Try to catch the bus which leaves from the end stop at around 4pm instead of a later one.
I visited the cave during the winter months and by 5+ it was almost pitched black. Instead of vultures hovering around us to look for their prey. We were surrounded by a couple of 黑车(illegal taxis), confronted with the prospect that we might have missed the last bus and was stranded almost 60 over km away from BJ City! The temperature was dipping to below 0 degrees and we were very cold & hungry! Not exactly a nice position to be in! So please try and catch the 7am bus instead!
4) If you want to return to 苹果园. Please remember to board the bus from the opposite direction.
Here are some suggestions for a Day Trip out of Beijing
1)Cuandixia Village
2)Shidu (10 ferry crossings)- "The Guilin of the North"
3)Shihua (Stone-flower) Cave
4)Feng Huang Ling
5)Hong Luo Temple
6)Green Brook Fishing Garden (Bi Xi Chui Diao Yuan)
7)Qinglong Lake
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