Sebrina and Justin

Last Thursday we took a day trip to Stone Forest (石林 Shí Lín), which is located 126km (78 mi) southeast of Kunming. It took our chartered bus 2 hours each way. And once we got there we found that the admission price had been nearly doubled in February to 140å…ƒ (~USD17). Ouch! Stone Forest is one of 28 world wide geoparks recognized by UNESCO. It’s karst landscape covers an area of 2667 km² (1030 sq mi).

Strolling through Stone Forest was a surreal experience. At times the limestone pillars felt like petrified giants, eternally damned to the caustic whims of a merciless mother nature. Lost in the bowels of the forest, the legends surrounding that place almost seem plausible. For example, one tale claims that the gods smashed a mountain into a labyrinth for lovers seeking privacy. (A couple other legends that I’ve dug up are shown below.) It was a nice change being in natural surroundings with dragonflies and butterflies, and rock and water formations with names like Goddess of Mercy, Moon Lake, Pinnacles Propping up the Sky, Sweet Water Well, Moon-Gazing Rhino. Unfortunately, manicured lawns, neatly paved paths, randomly placed surveillance cameras and intermittent hordes of people continuously yanked us back to reality. Fortunately, the vast majority of visitors seemed to travel in packs of tour groups that didn’t stray far from the beaten path. So it was easy to duck off of the main trail and get re-lost in fanciful imaginings. Then again, we’ve adjusted so much to China that we got spooked the first time we found ourselves surrounded in silence without another soul in sight.

As fitting as its name may be, it wasn’t until 1931 that the site became an official park and was dubbed 石林 by the provincial governor. However, it is truly an ancient place. Estimates date the beginning of the ’stone teeth’ formations to be over 200 million years ago. Marine fossils suggest that the entire area was once a vast sea and that the stone forest was created by limestone deposits on the seafloor. A plaque at the park explains that next “geotectonic movement uplifted this area. Long and complicated geological process shaped the limestone into unique stone forest landscape. It is regarded as one of the greatest natural wonders on the world.” Like with most signs here, I find that one interesting on a few levels.

Rocks and stuff

Insects

People and hungry goldfish


石 - a piece of debris fallen from a clif = rock or stone
æž— - two trees = forest

Other Stone Forest legends from the web

There is one pinnacle that resembles a slim and beautiful girl. Seen in silhouette with another stone formation, the girl appears to be carrying a basket on her back. This is the famous Ashma, heroine of an epic poem popular among the Sani people. According to the legend, Ashma, a Sani girl, refusing to be married to the landlord Rebubala, fought against the landlord and his men with her true love Ahei. They finally ran away from the landlord and came to the Stone Forest. But ganging up with the stone demon, Rebubala summoned up a flood and drowned Ashma, who then turned into the stone peak.

The origin of the Stone Forest is also the subject of an old legend. Long, long ago, in an attempt to flood the farmland of Lunan, the evil monster Asabe used his magic whip to drive a group of stone pinnacles to a place where they would obstruct the current of the Nanpan River. A hero of the Sani people, on hearing the news, rushed to the spot and fought the monster. Asabe was finally defeated and had to flee, leaving behind him the pinnacles that still bore the scars of his whip. These became the Stone Forest.

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