There are thousands of forests all over the world.
We have many small and big forests in this world starting from Amazon, Valdivian Rainforest,
Congo Rainforest, and many others.
There are many forests in this world which are wonderful and mysterious.
Such a mysterious forest is the stone forest.
You may be surprised to hear the name of this forest, but we really have a forest in this
world surrounded by stones.
In today's episode, we will see in detail a wonderful stone forest in China.
This wonderful stone forest is located in the Ceylon District of Yunnan Province, China.
All the unprecedented stone carvings around this forest.
These mountains are a part of the Himalayas in Yunnan Province, China.
All the small and big stones are scattered all over the forest in such a way that it
is like a deep stone forest, in which all the huge rocky trees are standing instead
of the green shaded by the leaves of the trees.
The stone forest was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007.
According to legend, the forest is the birthplace of Ashima, 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, which features folk dances and wrestling competitions.
This festival organizes in front of a stone to look like a girl walking around with a
scarf on her head and a basket in her hand.
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, 9 kilometers northeast of Major Stone Forest, is developed in dolomite
and dolomitic limestone of the Permian Qixia Formation.
Both formations are of the Lower Permian age.
They aggregate 505 meters in thickness and consist of shallow water 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 happens 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 to 6 degrees westward dipping monocline.
Conjugate shear joints are well developed and these fractures provided the main passageways
for surface water and underground water in the pre-karst development stage.
The distribution, density, and orientation of the fractures controlled the depth, size,
and orientation of the karst topography.
Sandstones and shales of the 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.
Lizi Yuanqing is located outside of Ring Road.
Odd pillars and rocks cover this area, sparse or dense.
They all reserve their natural appearances.
About 300 meters southeast of Ring Road, there is an ancient rock painting on the stone wall,
which draws images of humans, beasts, moon, and stars.
According to the archaeologist, the wall painting here is related to the primitive religion.
Perhaps these are the words left to us by the ancient Yi people.
The eternal Mushroom scenic area is next to Lizi Yuanqing.
On the top of the rock hill, there is a 15 meters high rock peak, which is large on the
top and small on the foot, just like a giant mushroom, thus, the place is named Eternal
Mushroom.
It is suitable to visit Stone Forest all year round.
But the best time to visit is from March to October.
Most ethnic festivals are during this time, and travelers can also appreciate various
flowers during this time.
Besides, Naigu Stone Forest is featured with the different sea of flowers in each season,
including orchid and rape flowers in spring, purple vervain in summer, coreopsis in autumn.
Stone Forest is located in the subtropical humid monsoon climate zone, and it features
a continental monsoon climate.
This forest is now a tourist destination.
Every year thousands of people come to Yunnan Province, China to see this wonderful forest.
Tourists return home with amazement to see a world surrounded by stones instead of green
forests.