STONE CITY WORLD HERITAGE

Stone forest (Shiling dalam bahasa China) World Heritage Side, Kunming memang terkenal dikalangan pelancung didalam dan diluar negara. Terletak 90km daripada pusat bandaraya Kunming. Terdapat perkhidmatan bas ulang alik

diantara Kunming East Coach Station dengan Shilin setiap 30 minit sekali. Bayaran satu hala perjalanan ialah CNY 34 seorang. Masa perjalanan ialah kurang lebih satu jam.  Tiket boleh dibeli di Coach Station dengan menunjukan passport bagi penumpang luar.

In China’s Yunnan Province is the famous stone topography of Shilin, meaning “stone forest.” Covering an area of three-hundred square kilometers (or 186 miles) the stone forest is a massive otherworldly landscape of karst formations over 270 million years old. Over the millennia seismic activity and water and wind erosion have carved the present-day limestone formations.

The giant stalagmite-like pillars create huge arrays of labyrinths that are easy to become lost in. Shillin is divided into many smaller stone forests and features caves, waterfalls, ponds, a lake with an island, and even an underground river. Two of the smaller individual stone forests, Naigu Stone Forest and Suogeyi Village, are a part of the South China Karst, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of Shillin’s most famous attractions is the Ashima Stone, which legend says was formed after the beautiful Sani girl, Ashima, ran into the forest and was turned to stone after being forbidden to marry the man she loved. Every year on June 24 the local Sani people hold the time-honored Torch Festival at Shilin, which features many “traditional performances such as wrestling, bull fighting, pole-climbing, dragon-playing, lion-dancing, and the A-xi Moon Dance.

Dibuka setiap hari daripada jam 0800am - 1800pm. Bayaran masuk adalah bermusim dan harga menjadi mahal khususnya dihari-hari yang diistiharkan cuti umum di China. Entrance fees semasa ialah CNY 185 untuk seorang dan tambahan CNY 25 untuk pengangkutan buggy daripada pintu utama ke pintu masuk yang terletak 10 minit perjalanan.

Setiap pengunjung disyorkan berada disana sekurang-kurangnya 4 jam dan lebih.  Satu anugerah Allah yang unik dan wajar untuk dilawati.

SHILIN STONE FOREST