When I arrived in Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province, the first thing that I noticed was the amount of construction that was occurring on the roads throughout the entire city. The traffic was bumper to bumper all the way from the airport to the hotel where I was staying, but the taxi driver assured me that it was just temporary and that the bridges that were being built would make Kunming one of the most navigable cities in all of China. After getting checked in and finding my room, I quickly fell asleep to prepare for a big day of sightseeing the following day at Shilin, more commonly known as the Stone Forest.

After a quick stop in the market outside of the Stone Forest for a midmorning snack of fresh lychees, my guide and I headed into the main gate of the Stone Forest. The huge stone pillars were as tall as California redwoods, and were created by erosion of the rocky soil over hundreds of millions of years.

There were many Chinese characters on the rocks that were used to tell stories over the ages, or to direct a traveler through the forest. Off the main street there was an amphitheatre with a giant banjo-like instrument in the middle that was used during the Torch Festival. During the Torch Festival, many Chinese would congregate in the amphitheatre and perform folk dances and wrestling competitions. Many students used the man-made tables that were in various spots around the Stone Forest as places to study, much like students at Duke use the Sarah P. Duke Gardens as an escape from the daily grind.

One of the most interesting spots in the Stone Forest was the jail cell made completely out of rock that was used to keep prisoners in ancient China. A small hole was cut in the bottom of one of the stones, and a smaller stone was moved in front of the opening once the prisoners were inside. This made it nearly impossible for the captives to escape, and if they did, they would next have to navigate through a complicated maze of giant rocks and briars. The Stone Forest was definitely a breathtaking site, and unlike anything I had seen before.