City of Kunming and Yunnan Province

9. The Stone Forest Near Kunming

The Stone Forest doesn't fully emit its grandeur until the tourists disappear in the late afternoon. Then you can take a solitary stroll through the microcosmic version of the uncanny peaks of Guilin, reduced to a thick grove of 100-foot-tall stone columns. It resembles a petrified forest left standing in the wake of geologic time, a thicket of gigantic exclamation points, a geologist's field of dreams. If you stay at one of the guesthouses, on many nights, members of the Sani Minority perform dances at the inns and the park. The audience will be encouraged to join in the dances.