Stone Forest
24°49′31″N 103°19′25″E / 24.82528°N 103.32361°E
The Stone Forest or Shilin (Chinese: 石林; pinyin: Shílín) is a notable set of limestone formations about 500 km2 located in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, near Shilin approximately 90 km (56 mi) from the provincial capital Kunming.
The tall rocks seem to arise from the ground in a manner somewhat reminiscent of
Features
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Shilin National Scenic Area (昆明市石林风景区) covers an area of 400 km2 (150 sq mi) and is divided into seven scenic areas as follows:
- Greater & Lesser Stone Forests (大小石林) - also known as the Lizijing Stone Forest (李子菁石林)
- Naigu Stone Forest (乃古石林)
- Zhiyun Cave (芝云洞)
- Lake Chang (长湖 literally Long Lake)
- Lake Yue (月湖 literally Moon Lake)
- Dadieshui Waterfall (大叠水瀑布)
- Qifeng Cave (奇峰洞)
These formations, caused by the weathering of limestone, are believed to be over 270 million years old[3] and are a tourist attraction for both overseas and domestic tourists, with bus tours bringing tourists from Kunming. There are also a number of hotels in the area.
Geology
The Stone Forest area was a shallow sea some 270 million years ago. Extensive deposits of
The strata are part of a gentle (2-6 degree) westward
Flora
The Shilin Karst area has the following types of forests and plant communities.[5]
- Evergreen broad-leaved forest: Cyclobalanopsis delavayi, and Castanopsis delavayi
- Sclerophyllous evergreen broad-leaved forests: Quercus cocciferoides and Quercus franchetii
- Deciduous broad-leaved and subtropical needle-leaved forests: Pinus yunnanensis
- Lake vegetation: Ottelia acuminata
Other plant species
- Sino-Himalayan subregion species: Colquhounia, Corallodiscus, Docynia, Lysiontus, Physospermopsis, Prinsepia, Sinocrassula, Siphonostegia
- Sino-Japan forest subrealm species: Akebia, Conandron, Sinomenium, Platycladus
- East Asian Realm species: Ainsliaea, Bletilla, Codonopsis, Dendrobenthamia, Eriobotrya, Leptodermis, Lycoris, Ophiopogon, Patrinia, Reineckea
Culture
According to legend, the forest is the birthplace of Ashima (阿诗玛), a beautiful girl of the Yi people. After falling in love she was forbidden to marry her chosen suitor and instead turned into a stone in the forest that still bears her name.[6] Each year on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, many Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival (火把节 Huǒbă Jié), which features folk dances and wrestling competitions.
Gallery
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See also
- Earth forest
- Pobiti Kamani
- Penitente (snow formation)
- Petrified Forest
- South China Karst
- Tsingy
- Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park (Madagascar)
- Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve (Madagascar)
- Xingwen County
References
- ^ "Twenty-two new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, and one deleted during Committee meeting in Christchurch". UNESCO World Heritage Convention. June 29, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
- ISBN 9780203886366.
- ^ Stone Forest from travelchinayunnan.com Archived 2007-11-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Geoscience Resources".
- ^ UNESCO: South China Karst
- ^ "The legend of Ashima (阿诗玛的传说)" (in Chinese). Yunnan Provincial Government Website. April 26, 2005. Archived from the original on April 12, 2006. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
Further reading
- A virtual field trip to the stone forest, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.
- Zhang, S. (1997). "Stone forest in China and pinnacle karst in Madagascar". In: Song, L. et al. (eds.) Stone Forest: a Treasure of Natural Heritage. China Environmental Science Press (see pp. 78–80), Beijing.
- How do stone forests get their spikes?
External links
