It's easy to spend hours walking through these towering gray stalagmite-like rocks, which split into a series of stone forests filled with river caves, waterfalls, natural bridges and sinkholes.
The Shilin Stone Forest is a set of spectacular limestone formations located in Shilin Yi Autonomous County,
Yunnan Province, in China, approximately 120 km from the provincial capital Kunming. The tall rocks seem to emanate from the ground like stalagmites, with many looking like petrified trees thereby creating the illusion of a forest made of stone. Some of the stone formations are up to 30 meters tall.
Stretched across more than 180 square miles in China's Yunnan province, the giant limestone pillars of the Shilin Stone Forest are sometimes called the "first natural wonder of the world," carved by rain, wind and seismic activity for millions of years. Its large-scale rock formation of different shapes and sizes continuously attracts both local and international visitors who enjoy natural beauty, and have a flair for rare destinations.
Visitors will have a great time exploring some of the rocks that were given names according to their appearance:
·The Great Mogul
· Mother and Son
· Teeth of the Dragon
· The Phoenix Bird
· Monkey on the Elephant Back
· Rhinoceroses Watching the Moon
Stone formations in the shapes of people, tigers, birds, plants and flowers are plentiful in the area called the
Greater stone forest, while the Lesser Stone Forest is filled with grassy meadows, bamboo and trees, and a rock known as "the Stone Singing Praises of Plums."
Other stones look like mushrooms, towers, pyramids, columns, and other figures that resemble the things around us. Most of the rocks are surrounded by water, the reflections of these behemoths exude an eerie serenity. Some rocks have crumbled from its original state due to the earthquakes that devastated the area.
Photo Gallery:
gorgeous pictures :)
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