The Stone Forest or Shilin (Chinese: 石林; pinyin: ShÃlÃn) 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 stalagmites, or with many looking like petrified trees, thereby creating the illusion of a forest made of stone. Since 2007, two parts of the site, the Naigu Stone Forest (乃å¤çŸ³æž—) and Suogeyi Village (所å„é‚'æ'), have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the South China Karst. The site is classified as a AAAAA-class tourist site.
Features
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ã€å°çŸ³æž—) - also known as the Lizijing Stone Forest (æŽåè石林)
- Naigu Stone Forest (乃å¤çŸ³æž—)
- Zhiyun Cave (èŠäº'æ´ž)
- Lake Chang (é•¿æ¹– literally Long Lake)
- Lake Yue (月湖 literally Moon Lake)
- Dadie Waterfall (大å æ°´)
- Qifeng Cave (奇峰洞)
These formations, caused by the erosion of limestone, are believed to be over 270 million years old 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.
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. Each year on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month, many Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival (ç«æŠŠèŠ‚ HuÇ'bă Jié), which features folk dances and wrestling competitions.
Transportation
There are buses available from Kunming East Bus Station to the scenic site of Stone Forest, which takes about 1.5 hours to get there.Trains are also available from Kunming Train Station to Shilin Train Station, about 2 hours'train ride.
Geology
The Stone Forest area was a shallow sea some 270 million years ago. Extensive deposits of sandstone overlain by limestone accumulated in this basin during the Permian period of geologic time. Uplift of this region occurred subsequent to deposition. Later, exposure to wind and running water shaped these limestone pillars. These formations extend as far as the eye can see, looking like a vast forest of stone, hence the name "the Stone Forest". The Major and Minor Stone Forests are developed in the nearly pure limestone of the Permian Makou Formation. The Naigu Stone Forest, 9Â km northeast of the Major Stone Forest, is developed in dolomite and dolomitic limestone of the Permian Qixia Formation. Both formations are of Lower Permian age. They aggregate 505m in thickness and consist of shallow water (platform) massive limestone and dolomite, bio-clastic limestone, calcarenite and calcilutite. The Maokou Formation at Stone Forest appears to have been heavily altered diagenetically, and macroscopic fossil remains are seldom seen. Under the microscope, single whole or fractured fusulinid foraminifera are seen, commonly in biomicrite, biopelmicrite to biopelmicrosparite limestones. At least one zone of chert nodules occurs in the limestone. Unlike in the dolomitic Qixia Formation, dolomite in the Maokou Formation seldom ranges above 3%.
The strata are part of a gentle (2-6 degrees) westward dipping monocline. Conjugate shear joints (NE-SW and NE-SE) are well developed and these fractures provided the main passageways for surface water and underground water in the pre-kart development stage. The distribution, density and orientation of the fractures controlled the depth, size and orientation of the karst topography. Sandstones and shales of Liangshan Formation that lies below the carbonate rock formations serve as a permeability barrier and force the local groundwater to flow from west to east.
Flora
The Shilin Karst area has the following types of forests and plant communities.
- Evergreen broad-leaved forest: Cyclobanopsis glancoides, 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 include:
- Sino-Himalayan subregion species: Colquhounia, Corallodiscus, Docynia, Lysiontus, Physospermopsis, Prinsepia, Sinocrassula, Siphonostegia
- Sino-Japan forest subrealm species: Akebia, Conandron, Sinomennium, Platycladus
- East Asian Realm species: Ainsliaea, Bletilla, Codonopsis, Dendrobenthamia, Eriobotrya, Leptodermis, Lycoris, Ophiopogon, Patrini, Reineckea
Fauna
Bird species include: Chrysolophus amherstiae, Streptopelia chinensis, Dendrocopos cathpharius, Dendrocopos major, Certhia himalayana, Garrulax elliotii, Garrulax albogularis ruficeps, Garrulax albogularis sannis, Alcippe chrysotis, Alcippe morrisonia, Yuhina flavicollis, Yuhina diademata, Phylloscopus inornatus, Parus monticolus, Aegithalos concinnus, Aegithalos iouschistos, Paradoxornis webbianus yunnanensis, Carpodacus rhodopeplus, Culicicapa ceylonensis, Eumyias thalassina, Carpodacus pulcherrimus, and Dicrurus macrocercus. Other Palearctic birds include Ptyonoprogne rupestris, Emberiza cia, Tichodroma muraria, Turdus mupinensis, Turdus feae, Motacilla grandis, Anthus hodgsoni, Phylloscopus fuscatus, and Phylloscopus armandii.
Mammal species include: Soriculus caudatus, Crocidura fuliginosa, Rhinolophus lepidus, Dremomys rufigenis, Sciurotamias forresti, and Callosciurus finlaysoni. Other Palearctic mammals include Apodemus uralensis, Apodemus latronum, Mustela sibirica, Microtus arvalis, Micromys minutus, and Volemys millicens. Bats include Rhinolophus ferrumequinum tragatus, and Hipposideros armiger armiger.
Amphibian species include: Cynops wolterstorffi, Cynops chenggongensis, Cynops cyanurus yunnanensis, Amolops mantzorum, Bufo andrewsi, Hyla annectans, Babina pleuraden, Odorrana grahami, Rana shuchinae, Nanorana yunnanensis, and Calluella yunnanensis.
Reptile species include: Calotes jerdoni, Japalura varcoae, Japalura yunnanensis, Hemiphyllodactylus·yunnanensis, Scincella doriae, Ophisaurus gracilis, Atretium yunnanensis, Zaocys nigromarginatus, Bungarus multicinctus wanghaotingii, Trimeresurus stejnegeri yunnanensis, and Dinodon septentrionalis. Other reptiles include Gekko scabridus, Japalura flaviceps, and Japalura splendida.
See also
- Petrified Forest
- South China Karst
References
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 [pp. 78â€"80], Beijing.
External links
- Global Network of National Geoparks: Stone Forest Geopark (Shilin Geopark)
- Travelchinayunnan.com: Shilin Stone Forest Geopark webpage
