A team of Chinese scientists has discovered a giant new sinkhole with a forest at its bottom ... the Institute of Karst Geology of the China Geological Survey, is NCKRI's sister institute.

Cave explorers stumbled upon a prehistoric forest at the bottom of a giant sinkhole in South China earlier this month. Sinkholes such as these are also known in Chinese as Tiankeng, or "Heavenly pit.

In May, a team of spelunkers rappelled into the dark heart of a 630-foot-deep sinkhole in China’s Guangxi ... Set upon an enormous underground river, it also houses a robust forest ecosystem ...

Take one look at the giant sinkholes that pockmark ... the rainy season feeds an underground river that snakes through a network of caves, according to the BBC. China is home to around 200 ...

The discovery of an ancient forest growing inside a giant sinkhole in southern China made headlines around ... Sinkholes are formed when underground water dissolves soft rocks such as limestone ...

Its biggest and most recent find was two years ago: an ancient forest ... Sinkholes are rare. China - and Guangxi particularly - has so many because of the abundance of limestone. When an ...

A different giant ... in China earlier this month. Xinhua/Zhou Hua via Getty Images A cave exploration team in China has discovered an enormous sinkhole with a well-preserved primitive forest ...

A huge ancient forest world has been discovered 630 feet underground ... reports The Washington Post. Giant sinkholes are not unusual for areas like this in China. The Chinese governments ...

Why it's incredible: China's enormous sinkholes make the landscape look like someone has taken a hole punch to it. Take one look at the giant sinkholes ... harbored a primal forest with ancient ...