Natural site · YUNNAN · UNESCO
Stone Forest (Shilin)
石林 · Shílín
About
UNESCO-listed karst landscape 90 km southeast of Kunming. Limestone pillars resembling petrified trees, surrounding Sani-minority villages.
The Stone Forest (Shilin) is a 350 km² karst landscape of limestone pillars formed over 270 million years by sea-bed sedimentation, uplift and erosion. The major scenic area covers a much smaller section walkable in 3–4 hours. UNESCO-listed in 2007 as part of the South China Karst. The surrounding area is home to the Sani branch of the Yi ethnic minority, whose dress and Torch Festival (late July or early August) are a substantial cultural overlay on the geology.
How to get there
HSR Kunming to Shilin (1h) or tour bus from Kunming East Station.
When to visit
Spring and autumn. Avoid rainy season afternoons. Torch Festival (late July) is the cultural highlight.
Other attractions in Kunming
Itineraries featuring this site
- Yunnan loop — Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La
10d · The northwest Yunnan circuit through Bai, Naxi and Tibetan culture.
- First-timer China — 14 days with Yunnan loop
14d · Two weeks covering the Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai circuit plus a Yunnan extension through Kunming, Dali and Lijiang — the combination that most first-time visitors leave wishing they had done.
- Yunnan deep loop — Kunming to Tengchong, 14 days
14d · Fourteen days through the full breadth of Yunnan: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La, the Yuanyang terraces, Jianshui and the geothermal fields of Tengchong — the province's different climates, altitudes and minorities in one loop.
- First-timer China — 21 days with northwest Silk Road extension
21d · Three weeks across China: the classic eastern cities, a Yunnan highland loop, and a Silk Road extension through Gansu into the northwest — covering the range of what China actually contains.
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