The Stone Forest, or Shilin (石林) is a must see when in Kunming, it’s a two hour bus ride from the center of Kunming, and can be done in a day. The stone forest contains a huge collection of very large limestone pillars. their length varies from a few meters to 30 meters high. They were formed over the millennia by wind and rain and offer some very imaginative shapes and figures. When visiting the stone forest, make sure you get away from the main tourist areas, these are the areas where the ground is paved and there are lots of people. There are some beautiful areas where you can actually be the only one around if you are willing to do some walking.
