The Stone Forest - A Spectacular Limestone Forest in China

Located near Shilin in the Yunnan Province of China, the Stone Forest is a set of spectacular limestone formations. The forest features tall rock formations that emerge from the ground like stalagmites. The Stone Forest near Shilin is popularly known as the 'First Wonder of the World'. Many of these tall rock formations in this forest are about 30 meters high and look like petrified trees. These spectacular tree-like tall rocks give an impression of a forest made of stones.




Shilin, the Stone Forest is one of China's greatest attractions and presents a breathtaking scenery. The spectacular limestone formations in the Shilin Stone Forest have been created over a period of 270 million years. Abusive geological process and erosion by water has carved the limestone into shapes that we see today. The Shilin Stone Forest in the Yunnan Province forms part of the South China Karst region that extends over a surface of 500,000 square kilometers.




The Shilin Stone Forest is regarded as one of the most spectacular examples of karst landscapes in the world. The karst features and landscape in the Shilin Stone Forest are the best in the world. It hosts karsts of almost all shapes including pinnacle-shaped, column-shaped, mushroom-shaped and pagoda-shaped groups. Nowhere else in the world one can see such a diversity of shapes and changing colors of limestone formations.