Kunming Stone Forest Travel Guide

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Located in Shilin County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, Stone Forest is one of the most famous tourist attractions in China. Stone Forest is usually regarded as the first destination by tourists when they visit Kunming. Here, some tourism information about Stone Forest is introduced as the following.

Stone Forest

Fact of Stone Forest in Kunming

Stone Forest, known as "the best in the world wonders" , is one of the must-see attractions in Kunming.

Stone Forest has the world's most peculiar karst landform. The "sword-shaped karst topography" is the main feature of Stone Forest. About 300 million years ago, Kunming Stone Forest was a vast expanse of water. But, after a long geological evolution, it finally became a very precious geological relic. Because of its natural wonders, Stone Forest has attracted numerous tourists at home and abroad.

Kunming Stone Forest is the only karst landscape that is located in subtropical plateau. Known as the "Stone Forest Museum", Stone Forest is regarded as the China National Geological Park, the World Geopark and one of China's four major tourist attractions.

Peculiar Stone Forest

Stone Forest Scenic Area covers an area of 1,100 square kilometers and its protected area is 350 square kilometers. The whole scenic area is divided into 8 parts: Stone Forest Scenic Area, Naigu Stone Forest, Zhiyun Cave, Long Lake, Dadie Waterfall, Guishan National Forest Park, Moon Lake and Qifeng Cave. Stone Forest Scenic Area (Central Scenic Area), Naigu Scenic Area, Dadie Waterfall Scenic Area and Long Lake Scenic Area are developed as the sightseeing areas.

When you enter the scenic spot, you will see the stones in Stone Forest are of different shapes and gestures. The stones here are so unique that they are like a wonderful painting that attracts many tourists all over the world. They are also like a beautiful poem composed by countless poets. Some stones are like peacocks; some are like horses; some are like monkeys; some are like elephants and so on. These stones are all extremely vivid and variant. In addition to animals, there are also some stones that look like plants, such as spring bamboo shoots, mushrooms and flowers. There is a kind of "bell stone" which can generate different tones if you knock it.

Stones of Different Shapes in Stone Forest

Shilin is not only famous for its natural landscape, but also for its unique Sani features and customs. The most influential and well-known figure is Sani Girl - Ashima. According to the legend, Ashima was a very beautiful girl grown up in Shilin. She was good at singing and dancing and many young men wanted to pursue her. Finally, she fell in love with her childhood sweetheart Ahei. They loved each other very much. But, Azhi, the son of the rich man Rebubala, took a fancy to Ashima. Azhi and his father purposely tried many crude means to separate Ashima and Ahei. Although Ashima and Ahei revolted against them for many times, at last, Ashima was swept away by the flood let out by Cliff God who colluded with Azhi and his father. Fortunately, Amashi was saved by Yingshange Girl and Yingshange Girl made her as a Stone Peak. And now this famous stone peak in Stone Forest attracts many tourists every year.

Ashima Stone Peak

The Torch Festival, on June 24 of lunar calendar, is a traditional festival for Sani people. On the Torch Festival, Sani people dressed in their holiday best light torches to drive disasters and celebrate harvest. In addition, many different activities are held to celebrate the Torch Festival, such as wrestling, bull-fighting and folk dancing. The Torch Festival is also known as the "Oriental Carnival".

Torch Festival

Travel Information of Stone Forest Scenic Area

Entrance Fee: RMB 175 per person
English Interpretation: RMB 80/Time
Opening Hours: 7:00—18:00

Where is Stone Forest

Stone Forest is located in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Kunming, Yunnan Province. Situated in the southeast of Kunming, Stone Forest is 78 kilometers from the provincial capital Kunming downtown. Stone Forest is not only a World Geopark, but also a national key scenic spot and a national AAAA-class tourist scenic spot. In addition, Stone Forest is also the hometown of “Ashima”. Stone Forest is located to the southeast of Kunming Changshui Airport. The distance between Kunming Changshui Airport and Stone Forest is about 97km. There is a highway from Kunming to Stone Forest. It takes nearly 2 hours by car.

How to Get to Stone Forest

Kunming Airport to Stone Forest

Stone Forest is located in Shilin County, Kunming. You can go to Stone Forest from Kunming Airport by train and by bus.

Kunming Airport

By Bus

There is no shuttle bus from Kunming Changshui International Airport to Stone Forest Scenic Area. If you arrive at Kunming Changshui International Airport and you want to go to Stone Forest directly, you can take Metro Line 6 at the airport. Then, you need to get off at Kunming Eastern Bus Terminal and transfer to the bus from Kunming to Shilin. The bus ticket is RMB 25. It takes about 1.5 hours to get to Shilin County. When you arrive in Shilin County, you can take Public Bus No.5 to get to Stone Forest.

By Train

You can take Shuttle Bus 919C to Kunming Train Station at the airport. The shuttle bus ticket is 15RMB/per. When you arrive at Kunming Train Station, you can take a train to Shilin. It takes about 2 hours to get to Shilin. The train ticket is 18.5RMB. When you are in Shilin, you can take a public bus to Stone Forest Scenic Area.

Kunming Downtown to Stone Forest

When you are in Kunming downtown, you can choose to go to Stone Forest by bus and by train.

By Bus

There are buses departing to Stone Forest Scenic Area at Kunming Eastern Bus Terminal every day. Kunming Eastern Bus Station is located between Hongqiao Flyover and Liangmiansi Flyover on East Third Ring Road, Panlong District. The bus ticket is 26RMB/Per. It takes about 1.5 hours from Kunming Eastern Bus Terminal to Stone Forest Scenic Area.

By Train

You can choose to take a train to Shilin at Kunming Train Station. Kunming Train Station is located on No.1 Beijing Road, Guandu District, Kunming. You can get off the train at Shilin Train Station and then transfer to a public bus to get to Stone Forest Scenic Area. The train ticket price ranges from 8 to 20RMB.

Kunming Eastern Bus Station