Hole in a mountain

Dongchong community and the Dapeng Peninsula are in the outskirts of Shenzhen, China. A beach resort, said to be Shenzhen's version of the Maldives. Clear, beautiful colored waters, tranquil beach, a village... and a hole through a mountain. The Chuanbi Rock, Piercing Nose Rock, or Elephant Trunk Gate cuts across the very end of the peninsula mountain. A see-through hole 18 meters high, 9 meters wide and 46 meters long.

So I arrived at the beach town, but it came immediately clear that getting to the cave wasn't necessarily obvious. The government websites had said that I could walk on the beach if the tide was low enough, but that I'd need to pay for access to the beach. The tide was mid-level, but eyeballing the path to the cave it looked like crossing on the beach was out of the question, waves were hitting the cliffs rising from the sea, and I couldn't cross them. 

And the beach itself was closed, the whole village seemed to be under renovation. All accesses blocked. I finally found an open gate to the beach and explored towards the cave, while knowing I couldn't get there by the beach. And then a guard with megaphone came shouting at me. We didn't share a common language but he pointed me to an upper route that I should take instead. I guess the beach was off limits in the off-season or perhaps the long row of tents on the beach was some kind of a military exercise.

I retreated and tried to go the house the guard had pointed me to, on the left side of the beach a bit higher up on the hill. When searching for the access to the beach I had already noticed that there was a road leading in this direction, so I took that road. Passed the house, maybe it was a hotel, but seemed quiet, and there were no signs for any kind of cave access payment booth, so I continued. After a while a gate and some barracks appeared, and another guard. Now I was a the right place, judging from all the signs.

I tried to ask how to get to the cave, can I buy a ticket. But the guard indicated it was closed until 5pm that day. And it was early 8 something in the morning. With the help of translation tools I explained my situation, deep craving for visiting cavers and having to get back to my meeting. He graciously opened the gate for me and guided me down the stairs. 

At the bottom of the stairs I had arrived on the beach, past the cliffs, and in front of the cave. There was a platform being constructed for viewing the cave, but the signs indicated that we shouldn't actually go in the cave. For once I complied with instructions, so took photos right in front of the massive opening, and then left.

The cave is roughly at coordinates N 22.491071 E 114.588586 (a bit uncertain, due to Chinese GPS coordinates and Google Maps misalignment/disturbances). More information about the cave here, here and here.

To get to Dongchong, I simply booked a "DIDI" taxi from Shenzhen city, which cost about 25 € one way. Then another one back. Easy, though there may be some public transport options too.

Cave:

Platform:

Beach:

See also my Hong Kong Dragon Claw Cave explorations the next day, as we were traveling back home via Hong Kong airport: link (alt. link).

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. 

Spring Wash

Finally, the car feels like new! A new, 34 year old that is. A bit rusty, but not dusty! Or muddy.

I've been waiting for this, but this month the car's been parked at the airport for 20 days as I was away, and before that the Finnish weather for was too cold to dare sprinkle water on the car, often -20 or so. The locks would have frozen, maybe doors too.

This article is also published here. More car stories in the Planetskier blog series at Blogspot or Planetskier.net. The photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko.

Dragon Claw Cave, Hong Kong

The Dragon Claw Cave, or 龍爪洞 as it is known in Chinese is a sea cave at the end of a small bay in the peninsula that extends between the South Bay Beach and Ching Hom Kok Beach, in Hong Kong. There's a nice but challenging path from the South Bay Beach to near cave, but as you near the cave the path turns into more difficult, at some point other hikers warned of a wild boar, then the path required an assisting rope, and then further down ... I didn't dare climb all the way down for the last 20 meters, for a fear of falling to the sea. But it is a beautiful cave even from this distance!

Afterwards I took a swim at the South Bay Beach before we headed back to the city. This was just a stop on our way with trains from Shenzhen to Hong Kong and then onwards to the airport; the easiest way to get to Shenzhen from Finland is to get the Finnair Helsinki-Hong Kong flight and use the trains or ferries to get over to Shenzhen. For the trains you'll need to switch at the West Kowloon station in Hong Kong from the border-crossing high speed train to the Airport Express train.

The area around South Bay Beach is very nice, there isn't much at the beach itself but on the way there there are high end apartments, a luxury neighborhood with more beaches, restaurants, etc.

Not much information about the cave can be found from the Internet, but here's one trip report to the cave. More information about the beach here. The beach is at N 22.224952 W 114.197536 and the cave at N 22.223054 E 114.195581.

Hike pictures:

The hiking paths go like this (courtesy of alltrails):

Cave pictures:

Beach pictures:

At the airport we were stunned by the size of it:

We had the fortune to be able to enter a lounge with the two of us having enough status for that plus guests. The Cathay Pacific Bridge Lounge was wonderful, with its two sides (Chinese style food on the left and international food on the right). What was very nice also how both food and shower access was given with alarm buzzers. Well organized.

Lounge photos:

Flight home:

This article has also been published at Planetcaver.net here. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net, wimming stories at planetswimmer.com, sauna articles at saunablogger.cool. or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko and Lorenzo Corneo. All rights reserved. 

Pessets spa

Hotel Pessets Restaurant & Spa is located in Sort, in the Pyrenees mountains, at the northern border of Spain and near Andorra.

It is conveniently located near the Port Ainé and Espot Esquí ski resorts, in a small but interesting village of Sort. And near Rialp, a slightly bigger village.

I particularly liked their ground floor arrangement, typically hotels are just rooms and maybe a restaurant. But here there was a high-end restaurant (much recommended, see pictures further down), a pizza place, a bar, a lounge to hang out, fire place and sofas... very nice.

There was a spa, of course, as I had to have a sauna after all the caving and skiing :-) And conference calling, sigh. When I drove here I was either stopping to explore caves, or on conference calls. And this was after a very hard two weeks of non-stop working, and a major conference to hold demos at from early morning to late evening. Wonderful stuff, but maybe a bit too much.

Anyway, back to the spa. Their spa needs reservations, but when I was there I was alone, despite it being fairly busy season. There was a Finnish sauna, steam room, showers, water to drink, relaxation area, and an indoor pool. Since it was winter I didn't try the outdoor pool, but there was a bigger one outside. There's also relaxation area outside, and a nice garden, but again maybe more for the summer.

The hotel was quite affordable, I think I paid a bit more than 100€ per night for one person. Meal at the restaurant will set you back 30-40€ depending on how many courses you eat. (With wine this would be more, and if their tasting menu would have been available just the food alone would have been 65€.)

Hotel home page is here.

Sauna and the pool:

Relaxation area:

Food photos from the Pessets restaurant, below. Note the cheesecake served in components. Wonderful!

The hotel:

This article has also appeared here. Read all swimming stories at planetswimmer.com and sauna articles at saunablogger.cool. Or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. Sauna and pool photos have been taken when the facility was empty or closed.

Swimming hall prices in Finland

Iltalehti had an interesting article about the prices of swimming hall visits. Ranging from 20€ to 3€, but mostly around 6-7€.

I think they forgot some of the spas, like Hanko's spa, which costs 36€ (home page, article, alt. link). Or Levi, which costs 25€ (home page, article, alt. link). But these are private, high-end facilities, of course. But the Iltalehti article also listed some private ones, like Vierumäki swimming hall, which costs 12.50€.

Anyway, visiting Inari's swimming hall at 3€ sounds like a good idea! And there's plenty of swimming halls to visit in this list in general :-)

The table from Iltalehti:

Town	Hall	Price
Helsinki	Yrjönkadun uimahalli 2.krs	20.00
Vierumäki	Vierumäen uimahalli & kylpylä	12.50
Godby	Ålads Idrottscenter	10.50
Marianhamina	Mariebad	10.30
Tampere	Hervannan uimahalli	9.75
Tampere	Tesoman uimahalli	9.75
Tampere	Pyynikin uimahalli	9.75
Tampere	Tampereen uintikeskus	9.75
Jyväskylä	Vesiliikuntakeskus Aalto Alvari	9.50
Kangasala	Kuohu	9.20
Jämsä	Uimahalli Koskikara	9.15
Kemijärvi	Kylpylä-uimahalli Poukama	9.00
Kajaani	Vesiliikuntakeskus Kaukavesi	8.70
Orivesi	Oriveden uimahalli	8.50
Turku	Petreliuksen uimahalli	8.40
Turku	Samppalinnan maauimala	8.40
Turku	Kupittaan maauimala	8.40
Turku	Impivaaran uimahalli	8.40
Rovaniemi	Uimahalli Vesihiisi	8.30
Suomussalmi	Kylpylä Kiannon Kuohut	8.30
Imatra	Imatran uimahalli	8.30
Rauma	Rauman uimahalli	8.30
Ylöjärvi	Ylöjärven uimahalli	8.10
Alajärvi	Alajärven uimahalli	8.00
Seinäjoki	Seinäjoen uimahalli	8.00
Joensuu	Virkistysuimala Vesikko	8.00
Paimio	Uimahalli solina	8.00
Forssa	Vesihelmi	8.00
Raisio	Uintikeskus Ulpukka	8.00
Nurmijärvi	Rajamäen uimahalli	8.00
Lohja	Neidonkeidas	7.80
Espoo	Leppävaaran maauimala	7.80
Hämeenlinna	Hämeenlinnan uimahalli	7.60
Sotkamo	Vuokatti Areena	7.50
Savonlinna	Uimahalli Pikku Saimaa	7.50
Alavus	Kunto-Lutra	7.50
Pietarsaari	Pietarsaaren uimahalli	7.50
Oulainen	Uimahalli Lähde	7.50
Kannus	Kitin Vapari	7.50
Kokkola	Vesi Veijari	7.50
Varkaus	Uimahalli ilopisara	7.50
Nokia	Nokian uimahalli	7.50
Tampere	Tampereen maauimala	7.50
Pori	Porin keskustan uimahalli	7.50
Hyvinkää	Sveitsin uimala	7.40
Lappeenranta	Lauritsalan uimahalli	7.20
Lappeenranta	Lappeenrannan uimahalli	7.20
Helsinki	Mäkelänrinteen uimahalli	7.20
Keuruu	Keuruun uimahalli	7.10
Kirkkonummi	Kirkkonummen uimahalli	7.10
Sysmä	Sysmän uimahalli	7.00
Tornio	Tornion uimahalli	7.00
Juva	Vesiliikuntakeskus Sampola	7.00
Mikkeli	Viihdeuimala Rantakeidas	7.00
Mikkeli	Naisvuoren uimahalli	7.00
Ylivieska	Ylivieskan uimahalli	7.00
Toholampi	Lylyn Pisara	7.00
Muurame	Uimahalli-kuntosali Aallotar	7.00
Viitasaari	Uimahalli Simmari	7.00
Jyväskylä	Wellamon uimahalli	7.00
Kouvola	Valkealan uimahalli	7.00
Kouvola	Kuusankosken uimahalli	7.00
Kouvola	Inkeroisten uimahalli	7.00
Iisalmi	Saukko	7.00
Kuopio	Lippumärn uimahalli	7.00
Kuopio	Kuntolaakson uimahalli	7.00
Eura	Euran uimahalli	7.00
Somero	Someron uimahalli Loiske	7.00
Uusikaupunki	Uudenkaupungin uimahalli	7.00
Kaarina	Kaarinan uimahalli	7.00
Tuusula	Tuusulan uimahalli	7.00
Järvenpää	Järvenpään uimahalli	7.00
Helsinki	Lauttasaaren uimahalli	7.00
Kempele	Virkistysuimala Zimmari	6.90
Lahti	Nastolan uimahalli	6.80
Lahti	Saksalan uimahalli	6.80
Lahti	Kivimaan uimahalli	6.80
Lahti	Lahden uimahalli	6.80
Kemi	Kemin uimahalli	6.80
Vaasa	Vaasan uimahalli	6.80
Kerava	Keravan uimahalli	6.80
Suolahti	Suolahden uimahalli	6.75
Äänekoski	Uimahalli Vesivelho	6.75
Savitaipale	Savitaipaleen Suvanto	6.70
Espoo	Espoonlahden uimahalli	6.70
Espoo	Olarin uimahalli	6.70
Espoo	Matinkylän uimahalli	6.70
Espoo	Tapiolan uimahalli	6.70
Espoo	Keski‑Espoon uimahalli	6.70
Espoo	Leppävaaran uimahalli	6.70
Lieksa	Lieksan uimahalli	6.60
Porvoo	Porvoon uimahalli	6.60
Orimattila	Orimattilan uimahalli	6.50
Pieksämäki	Pieksämäen uimahalli	6.50
Lapua	Virkistysuimala Sateenkaari	6.50
Kristiinankaupunki	Kristiinankaupungin uimahalli	6.50
Mustasaari	Mustasaaren uimahalli	6.50
Nivala	Uikko Uimala	6.50
Saarijärvi	Uimahalli-kuntokeskus Aarresaari	6.50
Liperi	Liprakka	6.50
Salo	Salon uimahalli	6.50
Siuntio	Siuntion uimahalli	6.50
Vantaa	Martinlaakson uimahalli	6.50
Vantaa	Korson uimahalli	6.50
Vantaa	Hakunilan uimahalli	6.50
Vantaa	Myyrmäen uimahalli	6.50
Vantaa	Tikkurilan uimahalli	6.50
Helsinki	Vuosaaren uimahalli	6.50
Outokumpu	Outokummun uimahalli	6.30
Kuhmo	Kuhmon uimahalli	6.20
Ilmajoki	Virkistysuimala Pore	6.20
Haapavesi	Haapaveden uimahalli	6.20
Kiuruvesi	Kiuruveden uimahalli	6.20
Hollola	Hollolan uimahalli	6.00
Heinola	Heinolan uimahalli	6.00
Laihia	Laihian uimahalli	6.00
Isokyrö	Uimahalli Pärske	6.00
Vöyri	Norvallan uimahalli	6.00
Oulu	Linnanmaan uimahalli	6.00
Haukipudas	Vesi-Jatuli	6.00
Oulu	Raatin uimahalli	6.00
Ilomantsi	Ilomantsin uimahalli	6.00
Kitee	Kiteen uimahalli	6.00
Joensuu	Rantakylän uimahalli	6.00
Hamina	Linnoituksen uimahalli	6.00
Janakkala	Tervakosken uimahalli	6.00
Harjavalta	Harjavallan liikunta‑ ja uimahalli	6.00
Huittinen	Huittisten uimahalli	6.00
Loimaa	Virkistysuimala Vesihovi	6.00
Kauniainen	Kauniaisen uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Kallion uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Töölön uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Siltamäen uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Kontulan uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Jakomäen uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Malmin uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Yrjönkadun uimahalli 1.krs	6.00
Helsinki	Pirkkolan uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Itäkeskuksen uimahalli	6.00
Helsinki	Uimastadion	6.00
Helsinki	Kumpulan maauimala	6.00
Lammi	Lammin uimahalli	5.80
Pori	Maauimala	5.70
Pori	Meri‑Porin uimahalli	5.70
Veteli	Vetelin liikuntakeskus ja uimahalli	5.50
Vihti	Nummelan uimahalli	5.50
Kajaani	Otamäen maauimala	5.40
Padasjoki	Uimahalli Jokihelmi	5.00
Sodankylä	Siilashalli	5.00
Kurikka	Molskis	5.00
Muhos	Muhoksen uimahalli	5.00
Kotka	Karhulan uimahalli	5.00
Kotka	Katariinan uimahalli	5.00
Loviisa	Esplanadin uima-allasosasto	4.50
Jalasjärvi	Polskis	4.00
Kokemäki	Kokemäen uimahalli	4.00
Inari	Ivalon uimahalli	3.00

This article has also appeared here. Read all swimming stories at planetswimmer.com and sauna articles at saunablogger.cool. Or all blog articles from Blogspot. Photos and text (c) 2026 by Jari Arkko. The newspaper article picture and the list are by Iltalehti, please read them in more detail on the link provided.