Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest

Located 165 kilometers from downtown of Chongqing, Wansheng Stone Forest is the oldest (formed during the Ordovician epoch) and the second largest stone forest in China. The forest here has a typical karst appearance, filled with sword, drum, pagoda, mushroom and bud shaped stones as well as animal shapes. This place in fact could be called a park of stoneware.

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Stone Fan

The Stone Fan stands erect in the northwest of Wansheng Stone Forest scenic area. The stone fan is south-north. It is almost 6 meters high with the thickness of less than 2 meters and the diameter of the fan is about 6.5 meters. It weighs 200 tons. The fan handle is only 1.6 meters high. The fan is giant and thick while the fan handle is small and thin, so the fan seems to be falling. According to the authorities, the Stone Fan can be the number one in both the aspects of volume and weight. So it is called the "Number One Fan in the World".

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Fossils

Wansheng Stone Forest is formed about 460 million years ago when this area was still covered with a vast expanse of water. It was once the cradle of ancient marine creatures. Later, because of the geographic changes, the sea disappeared and the stones and rocks appeared. Many ancient marine creatures were buried in the rocks and stones, forming fossils of different species and in various shapes. There are stone turtles, stone shells, stone conches, stone eggs and so on. All of these are helpful for the scientific research in the evolution of geology and marine creatures in the areas of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Sichuan Basin.

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Stone Gorges

The Stone Gorges in wansheng Stone Forest are formed as a result of karst collapse and the rocks' fracture. In the east of the stone forest are three stone gorges in parallel. They are respectively Lotus Gorge, Bird-Singing Gorge and Tingquan (listening to the spring) Gorge among which the Tingquan Gorge is the most marvelous. It is 300 meters long and 80 meters deep with a width of 1-2 meters. Stand in the bottom of the gorge, raise your head and look upward, you can see a string of the blue sky which is like a blue ribbon flying above your head. The cliffs on both sides are steep, towering and almost vertical which is very majestic.

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Stone Drum

The Stone Drum in Wansheng Stone Forest is about 4 meters high with the diameter of less than 1.4 meters. It is composed of the upper and lower parts. The upper part is shorter. The middle of the drum is almost cracking with only a quarter of the whole contact surface connected. At the first sight, it is about to fall and very dangerous. But surprisingly, it has stood there for many years regardless of wind and rain.

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Stone Tombs

There are three stone tombs in Wansheng Stone Forest. The first one is located under the parking lot and the other two are adjacent on the bank of Luhua (reed catkins) Lake. The three stone tombs were all built decently in Tong-Zhi years of Qing Dynasty. Exquisite pictures of flowers, birds, dragons and lions are carved on the obverses of the tombs.

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Stone Pagodas

On the opposite side of the Xianglu (censer) Mountain lies a stone "town" with an area of about one square kilometer. These stones in the "town" are similar to the pagodas, uneven and with different floors. Hundreds of such pagodas cluster together. So it is called "Thousand Pagodas Town".

Attractions of Wansheng Stone Forest - Sedan Songs

The Sedan Songs are made up by the sedan bearers according to their action rhythms when they bear the sedans. These songs reflect the life state as well as the wisdom of the sedan bearers. They sound catchy, easy to learn and interesting. For example, when the bearers are turning the corneer, the foregoing bearer may sing "wan-wan-tou (corner, corner)" and the subsequent bearers may sing "man-man-zou (slow, slow)". In the way, the sedan bearers response each other and avoid dangers and accidents.