Stone Forest

Nature's tribute to everlasting love:

Suharshi PERERA

The surrounding was blanketed with a fading layer of mist. Tender rays of the sun filtered through the sky piercing sword like rocks that stood all over the landscape. It painted a complete picture of the plateau enriched with flowers of sober hues, lush greenery and giant boulders.

The Stone Forest (Shilin in Chinese) located in the Yunnan Province in southwest China correctly deserves its name owing to its magnificent rocky nature that embraces the Earth. The peculiar view of these rocks reminds one of sharp snowflakes hanging from frozen mountains but the Stone Forest gained its amazing beauty as a result of being subject to geological, climatic and hydrological conditions experienced over millions of years.

The Stone Forest covering 1,100 square kilometers was believed to have experienced a sea environment some 270 million ago. The formation of the ground and rocks includes limestone a few hundred meters thick. Exposure to volcano lava later covered the Stone Forest with thick basalt.

The continuous varied treatment of nature and time turned the Stone Forest area into a unique scenic spot with sharp rock cliffs overlooking rivers, lakes, waterfalls and the plateau and a sub culture was created around the Stone Forest.

Being a World Heritage site, a World Geo Park and a prime tourist destination of China, the Stone Forest has a reserve of 350 square kilometers developed into a tourist scenic spot. The magically shaped rocks symbolize various figures of animals including elephant, crocodile and rhinoceros thereby offering a holistic experience of a forest along with beautiful flowers and butterflies reminding one that it is situated close to Kunming-the 'spring city of China' which is the capital of the Yunnan Province.

Strolling in the Stone Forest, visitors are sure to be enchanted by the naturally formed dissolved rocks of diversified shapes like pillars, mushrooms, swords and pagoda not to mention the glistening virgin lakes, waterfalls and natural bridges.

The most famous sights within the scenic area are Ashima, Lotus Peak, Sword Peak Pond and Rhinoceros' Muse upon the Moon.

The Stone Forest sprawling in the subtropical plateau is the bedrock of the subculture known as Ashima culture of Yi and Sani ethnic groups.

Asihma is a long narrative classical poem reflecting life and love. It is a typical representation of the colourful culture of the Sani and Yi people based on a painful experience of love. The poem tells a story about star-crossed lovers -a girl named Ashima, who fell in love with the boy called Ahei but failed to get married in the end.

However, the belief is that the two lovers turned into statues in the form of rocks still standing in the vast Stone Forest.

Even today, brightly-clad ethnic women play a lead role in guiding tourists, selling handicraft and indigenous foods thereby earning a handsome income.

The girls dress like Ashima and the boys Ahei retelling the sorrowful story of Ashima. One such beautifully dressed tour guide said all the girls in their clan want to be like Ashima even if they have to undergo the same painful experience.

Her outfit and the hat took the shape of a rock cliff with one sharp wing pinned on her hat. According to her, the wings represent butterfly wings which are a testimony to their deep rooted relationship with nature.

However, there is an interesting suggestion behind the idea of wearing wings on the hat. One wing indicates that she is still single and two wings means she is engaged preventing boys from wooing the married ones!

If a boy woos a girl he will have to labour for the girl's family for three months prior to their wedding.

Her particular clan worships the spider which is another miraculous creation of nature. She also said anyone can interpret the rocks according to the individual taste.

They derive all their customs and cultural practices from their birth place, the magnificent Stone Forest. Their main occupations are agriculture and livestock. During their cultural festivals wrestling, bullfights and their folk music and dances take centre stage.

The folk culture embedded in the natural scenic beauty of the Stone Forest is indeed a delightful experience for the traveller.