Rocky Aesthetics

by+Gong+Haiying

Yunnan Province in southwestern China is world renowned for its karst land formations， which are found in the Stone Forest in the Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Kunming City， 1，500-1，900 meters above sea level. Spanning 350 square kilometers， the Stone Forest has eight designated natural scenic spots and is the only of its kind on a subtropical plateau.

Karst derives from water-eroded rocks after sediment， collapse， downthrow， and accumulation， which appear in the forms of stone forests， peaks， clints， dolines， underground streams， vauclusian springs， and lakes. Such land formations can also be found in other parts of the country such as provinces of Guizhou， Sichuan， Guangdong， and Fujian， and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The best developed and preserved， though， are found in the Stone Forest of Lunan， Kunming.

According to archaeological research， this area was once beneath a vast expanse of ocean. The Stone Forest took form some 270 million years ago. Rocks emerged above the ground due to the elevation of the earths crust caused by collisions between the Eurasian and Indian plates. The dissolution of limestone separated stalagnates from one another， which turned into the stone forest we see today after enduring millenniums years of burning sunlight and wind and water erosion.

The Stone Forest is designated by the state as a reserve for vertebrate fossils and is believed to have preserved the greatest volume of relics from the Stone Age 800，000 years ago.

The Stone Forest is charming in terms of both natural landscape and cultural flavor. Over the past 2，000 years， the Sani people – a branch of the Yi ethnic minority， have created the Yi culture represented by Ashima， an epic that was included among the first group of National Intangible Cultural Heritage and has been translated into more than 20 languages.

The epic was adapted into Chinas first color/stereo movie and won numerous awards internationally. The Sani song“Please Stay， Dear Friends from Afar” is also widely acclaimed around the world. On the 24th day of the sixth month on Chinese lunar calendar， the Yi and Hani people celebrate the traditional Torch Festival， dubbed “Carnival in the East.”Participants dress up， celebrate the harvest， pray for good luck and watch wrestling and bullfighting.

The Stone Forest is unique and the only of its kind on the planet in terms of time of formation， variety of figure， range of distribution， and type and procedure of development. Its typical karst land formation， famed as a “natural museum，” is of irreplaceable value for culture， tourism， scientific research， and esthetic studies.

Scholars from home and abroad began studies of the Stone Forest and Yi culture during the early 1930s and played a farreaching role in the protection and development of the natural and cultural legacy.

The Stone Forest Geo-Park was established in 1931. Over the past 80 years， particularly since the founding of New China in 1949， various measures have sought to protect the time-honored natural wonder. To better protect it， administration of the park joined hands with the Geography Research Institute under Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） to establish CASs Stone Forest Research Center for the Stone Forest Scenic Area. They conduct constant year-round research of stone forest geosciences， sustainable development of tourism， and science popularization education， to strengthen the publics sense of environmental protection of the natural legacy.

The Stone Forest deserves honor for its irreplaceable value in terms of scientific research， aesthetics， and culture. It was cited one of the first National Scenic Areas in China in 1982， one of the first National GeoParks in China in 2001 and one of the first Global Geoparks by UNESCO in 2004.

On June 27， 2007， it was dubbed a World Heritage Site at UNESCOs 31st World Heritage Convention along with karst land formations in Libo， Guizhou Province， and Wulong in Chongqing. It became Chinas 34th World Heritage Site and sixth World Natural Heritage Site.

The jury of UNESCOs World Heritage Committee appraised the Stone Forest in Yunnan as the best example of karst land formation on the planet， with the most stunning natural phenomena and extraordinary value to aesthetics and science.