A team of Chinese and French speleologists have determined that China's longest cave is around 186 kilometers long, 25 kilometers longer than a measurement from 2014.

The cave researchers conducted a joint expedition from April 16 to 28 at Shuanghe Cave in Wenquan Township, Suiyang County in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

They also discovered fossils of vertebrates at 13 sites in the cave. Most of them belonged to giant pandas, while others include possible bear and elephant skeletons.

The karst cave was uncovered in the late 1980s, and more than 10 large surveys have been carried out since by Chinese and foreign researchers. The surveys have found 203 entrances to the cave.