SUIYANG, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Shuanghe Cave, Asia's hitherto longest cave in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has been found to be 409.9 km in length and 912 meters in depth, making it the third longest cave in the world, said researchers.

The latest research results on the cave were released during a press conference Tuesday. This year's cave expedition was conducted by the provincial mountain resources institute, the provincial cave association, and over 30 researchers and explorers from China, France, Italy, and Belgium.

The cave expedition team has also unearthed some paleontological fossils and geological relics. Researchers have thus far found 40 giant panda fossils, the oldest individual living at least 100,000 years ago and the youngest living only a few hundred years ago.