Wolfgang's photos with the keyword: Shilin

The Sani people celebrate their national festival - the Torch Festival - every lunar year on June 24. They take part in traditional performances such as wrestling, bull fighting, pole-climbing, dragon-playing, lion-dancing and the A-xi Moon Dance. During this time, the Stone Forest is alive with a particularly joyful, festive atmosphere, making the area even more attractive than usual. However, the Stone Forest - with its sculptures engraved by nature, herself - is always a true miracle for visitors to behold.

An old local saying says that 'If you have visited Kunming without seeing the Stone Forest, you have wasted your time. Truly, the Stone Forest is one of the most important attractions of Yunnan.

Woman from the Sani branch of the Yi tribespeople

Man in traditional Sani outfit

Geologists say the Stone Forest is a typical example of karsts topography. Approximately 270 million years ago - during the carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era - the region was a vast expanse of sea. Over time, the movements of the lithosphere gradually caused a retreat of the waters and the rise of the limestone landscape. Due to constant erosion by the elements, the area finally developed into the present-day Stone Forest.

Details of grey limestone pinnacles of the Stone Forst

Opening in a limestone formation of the Stone Forest. "Do not rest to long in this passage, the rock will fall down next couple of thousand years."

Sight seeing pavilion crowded with visitors

Accordingly, the Stone Forest is a popular picnic destination for Chinese lovers and families as well.

The Stone Forest is situated in the Lunan Yu Autonomous County 120 kilometers southeast of Kunming. A typical karst formation, the Stone Forest covers an area of more than three hundred square kilometres. Scientific research has shown that what is now the Stone Forest was 270 million years ago an immense expanse of water with a vast stretch of limestone sediment formed over the years on the seafloor. As a result of the crustal movement, the seabed rose gradually and a large piece of land thus came into being. Exposed to rains and winds, eroded by the elements, the thrtist-up limestone ranges were shaped bv time. About 200 million years ago numerous stone peaks, pillars, and stalagmites rose abruptly from the ground and towered into the sky, extending now as far as the eye can see, looking like a vast forest of stone, hence the name "the Stone Forest".

Many beautiful legends originate in this magical place, passed along by the native people known as Sani, a branch of the Yi ethnic group. One particular story about the faithful love of Ashima, a beautiful, clever and warm-hearted Sani girl, is the most popular and has been told for thousands of years.

Sani traditional dance with their instruments

nice performance for the tourists

Walking through the Stone Forest, visitors marvel at the natural stone masterpieces and are bewitched by the intricate formations. The magnificent, strange and steep landscape creates countless labyrinthine vistas

A walk through the rocks