Kunming (昆明) is the capital of Yunnan. It is also known as 'Spring City' because of the gentle and nice weather. Flower trading and horticulture are the major business in Kunming. The center of downtown Kunming is Jinma (Gold horse 金馬) Biji (Jade hen 碧雞) Plaza. However, the most interesting places are outside the downtown. Jiuxiang (九鄉) and Stone Forest, Shilin (石林), are located east of Kunming city.

Jiuxiang Scenic Area consists rivers, gorges and caves. At the beginning, I visited the Yincui Gorge (蔭翠峽) by small boat. Then I walked into the cave with with amazing geologic formations. Finally, I went back to the entrance via tourist cable lift.

Shilin, the Stone Forest, is the one of two Karst landscape formations in the world, another one is found in Slovakia. It formed at 270 million years ago. Due to the weathering, the shape of stones is greatly varied. A few peculiar outlooks of rocks are shown in the gallery.

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