石林

Big & Small Stone Forest


Useful Information

Location: Stone Forest Scenic Area, Huanlin W Rd, Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Kunming.
126 km east of Kunming.
(24.819079, 103.324936)
Open: All year daily 7-18.
[2023]
Fee: Adults CNY 130, Children (6-18) CNY 65, Children (0-5) free, Children (<1.2m) free, Seniors (60-70) CNY 65, Seniors (71+) free.
[2023]
Classification: KarstStone Forest
Light: n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Stone Forest Scenic Area, Huanlin W Rd, Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Kunming, Yunnan 652207, Tel: +86-871-6771-1606.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2004 member of the Global Geopark Network.
2007 inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
2015 member of the Global Geopark Network.

Description

The Big & Small Stone Forest is the most well known and popular of all seven Scenic Areas of Shinlin. The site is quite popular, and so there is a huge parking lot. On the left side is the China Stone Forest Karst Geology Museum, which offers a lot of background information. Straight ahead is a lake, and you will see the first pillars protruding from the lake. Behind the lake is a huge area which is about 800 m long and wide, where groups of pillars are located in a sort of park with small lakes.

小石林 (Xiǎo Shílín, Small Stone Forest) is also called Major Stone Forest. This is the section south of the entrance, has several small lakes, numerous trails and inscriptions in rocks. This is where the pictures you see are most likely taken. The highest "tree" or stone pilar is more than 40 meters in height. And its China, there are quite phantastic names for the rock formations like Lotus Peak, Ashima Rock, Sword Peak Pond, and Shilin Lake.

大石林 (Dà Shílín, Big Stone Forest), also called Minor Stone Forest or Ashima Scenic Area. This is the section east of the entrance, it's a little smaller in area than the other, the rock formations are actually the same.