Tiankengs in China occur mainly in the south, within the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Peal rivers. Many are grouped within the same drainage basins or on the same cave river systems. Tiankengs in China are mostly surrounded by precipitous cliffs, are very deep and covered by virginal forests at the base. They are characterized by their grandeur, peculiarity and mystery. China's Tiankengs are also valued for their aesthetics and sightseeing value; and some, including Dashiwei in Leye, are open to tourists.

For a long time, Tiankengs have been known as "large collapsed dolines" since only a small number of them have been discovered around the world and they have received little attention from academic circles. In China, the first large collapsed dolines to be widely known were discovered in Chongqing Municipality, such as Xiaozhai Tiankeng in Fengjie County. Later, more such dolines were reported in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for their marvelous natural scenery, such as Dashiwei Tiankeng in Leye County.

From the early 1990s until now, a series of Tiankengs were studied in China by Sino-foreign cave expeditions and many other research projects sponsored by the Geological Society of China and Institute of Karst Geology of the Chinese Academy of Geological Science. In Leye County alone, Sino-foreign teams have conducted five doline surveys to collect data on this phenomenon and assess the tourism prospects of the local caves. It was during this period of extensive research that the name "Tiankeng" was formally proposed and widely recognized as the correct terminology for the unique geological formation.

Since these mysterious and deep "ravines" frequently appeared in Chinese classic works, many experts believe that such depictions could be the earliest written records of Tiankengs from around the world.

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