1. 石林： The Stone Forest By: 钟小商 和 娟玫

2. Directions Fly from Austin to Kunming Changshui International Airport ( 从 austin 到昆明长水国际的飞机场坐飞机） Drive from Kunming Changshui International Airport to the Stone Forest （从昆明长水国际的飞机场到石林坐汽车） （ You don’t really need the 的 ）

3. Location 石林 is located in the province of 云南 石林 is located in the capital and largest city in the 云南 called 昆明。 Approximately 120 km (75 miles) from 昆明 Located in Shilin Yi Autonomous Country

4. Yunnan Highest point: Kagebo Peak- 6,740 meters Lowest point: Red River- 76.4 meters 67% Han Capital- Kunming Largest City- Kunming Population- 45.7 million (2009) Province borders Vietnam, Laos, Burma 394,000 sq. kilometer

5. Kunming 1,900 meters above sea-level North of Tropic of Cancer 21,473 sq. kilometers Population- 6,432,212 Location: east-central Yunnan province (north latitude 24°23´ and 26°22´N, and east longitude 102°10´and 103°40´E) 96 km (60 mi) southeast of Kunming is the Stone Forest 4 million Han out of 5 million registered residents of Kunming (2006) Language- Kunming dialect (very similar to that of Sichuan and Guizhou but uses the third tone much less then standard Chinese)

6. Background Large deposits of sandstone covered by limestone piled up in this basin during the Permian period of geologic time. Formed by the rise of the crust but exposure to wind and running water shaped these limestone ridges which extend as far as the eye can see. The mass number of limestone ridges look like a vast forest of stone, which indicates the name “The Stone Forest“ which is translated from the Chinese name, 石林. Believed to be 270 million years old Covers 400 sq. km

7. Features Wind Cave constructed of Penfeng Cave, Hongxi Spring and an underground river. From August to November, large outbursts of wind lasting from two to three minutes happen every 30 minutes. Forest contains Naigu Forest, Changhu Lake, Grand Waterfall, and more Dadie Waterfall and Ba River is a division of Nanpan River and during rainy seasons, up to 150 cubic meters (196 cubic yards) of water per. Sq. in plunge the 88 meter (288 ft.) drop

8. Legend: Ashima Stone The stone was created after a beautiful Sani girl named Ashima was kidnapped by the son of an evil landlord. Her lover went to save her and completed by singing for three days and three nights. Finally Ahei won. On their way home Ashima drowned in a flood. She now stands as the protector of the Sani people and a symbol of hope for freedom to marry who you want. Another version was she ran into the forest and after being told being she was banned from marring her true love, she was turned into stone. Now every June 24 th the local Sani community celebrates the Torch Festival at Shilin

10. Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Forest http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Karst/209172.htm http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/shilin-stone-forest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRHeataYFLHw-eVs6UR- ZH3D4JZio6U7pqrm7GTws2TYQ_hTlGf1A https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRHeataYFLHw-eVs6UR- ZH3D4JZio6U7pqrm7GTws2TYQ_hTlGf1A https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQEzpSAPkEY9iugeZMiX3wVUN3WkdJyAWWoeHWYD5VfuEH4iziL https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_pTdv1GKhQvql0F0CHMOC_XeREJpN79Jl8nFzO7HS_ZYvjPWxuQ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondsonne/605198601/ http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/Karst/209169.htm