Stone Forest & Black Dragon Pool

Stone Forest

Covering a total area of 350 square kilometers (about 86,487 acres), Stone Forest in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, is the most typical karst topography in the world. It is one of the four most famous natural sceneries in China. According to geologists, Stone Forest is the masterpiece of a lithospheric movement more than 200 million years ago. The entire forest of stones, stands perfectly straight, praised as the 'First Wonder under Heaven'. It is now extremely well-known both at home and abroad.

The present Stone Forest is a scenic area, consisting of Major Stone Forest, Minor Stone Forest, Naigu Stone Forest, Zhiyun Cave, Strange Wind Cave, Long Lake, Dadie Waterfall, and other attractions. Of these spots, the rock mountains in Major and Minor Stone Forest are lofty and very unusual, made up of strange and various shapes, causing your imagination to work overtime. Spacious Zhiyun Cave can accomodate hundreds of people, while at its narrowest point, there is room for just one person. In addition, there are smaller caves within the bigger caves. The labyrinth-like landform can make one dizzy.

Stone Forest is truly a wonder of the world. It welcomes the visitor with outstretched arms.

Getting there:
One can take a train to Stone Forest from Kunming or the long-distance bus in the bus station.

Black Dragon Pool
Located in the northern part of Kunming City, Black Dragon Pool is one of the oldest places of interest in this famous city. The reason for its name is that the water here is dark green and crystal clear. The interior of the garden consists of handsome mountains, tall straight trees, well-known and beautiful flowers, magnificent temples and the exquisite Plum Garden. In addition, there are a great number of steles bearing inscriptions of many dynasties.

There are four wonders of the Black Dragon Pool. The first wonder is that when you stand on the stone bridge in the middle of Black Dragon Pool, you will find that the water in the southern pool is green and clear while that in the northern pool is a little yellow and sludgy. What's surprising is that fish in both pools never come in contact with each other, even though the water flows easily from one pool to the other. The second wonder of Black Dragon Pool is that there is an old plum tree planted in the garden from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). Its ages-old trunk and curling branches indicate that it has experienced a lot. The third wonder is a cypress planted in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) that stands in the garden. It is so huge that four or five people, hand in hand, can wrap themselves around it. The final wonder is a camellia planted during the time of the Ming Dynasty that can be found here. A visit to the Black Dragon Pool is necessary to fully appreciate the beauty of these wonders.

Getting there:
Bus No.3, 22, 23 or 25 to get to the northern railway station, and then No. 9 bus from there.