Out of all the places in China seen till now, Kumning is much more colourful and beautiful. This colourful vibe comes from a nature park that we have seen in Yunnan. Yunnan is famous for two things - one its beautiful, uncommon flowers means rare species of flowers, found in Yunnan flower valley and second is natural park made up of only karst topography.
Today i would like to throw light upon this topic to our readers as well as our travel friends.
Natural karst limestone formations create Shilin, or the Stone Forest, in Kunming, China. Karst is a landscape shaped by the erosion of limestone. The karst landscape of Shilin was formed about 270 million years ago. This karst landscape is known as karst topography and this Yunnan is full of such type of topography.
In the middle of the stone forest lies lakes, ponds or water bodies and karst limestone formations evolved surrounding these water surfaces.
Now the question is - WHAT IS KARST TOPOGRAPHY??
Karst or karst topography is an area of land made up of limestone. Limestone, also known as chalk or calcium carbonate, is a soft rock that dissolves in water. As rainwater seeps into the rock, it slowly erodes.
They feature caves, underground streams and sinkholes on the surface. Where erosion has worn away the land above ground, steep rocky cliffs are visible.
Shilin is a karst formation in southern China. In Chinese, shilin means stone forest. Shilin got its name because the tall rocks that formed due to erosion look like stone trees. Shilin is part of a larger karst landscape called the South China Karst, which spreads across the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan.
If a cave becomes large enough and the top extends close enough to the surface, the top collapses. This produces depressions called sinkholes, which are among the most characteristic features of karst topography.
The original term “karst” derives from the word chalk that describes the substance that was left behind in the limestone after it eroded over time creating depressions. Mountain springs are also a characteristic of karst topography.
Now the next question- Why Does Karst Topography Exist?
Karst topography is a surface property that occurs in places where groundwater has dissolved a significant amount of soluble bedrock. The features of the karst topography are typically sinkholes, disappearing streams, caves, and rugged terrain.
The process of karstification is the result of the release of natural chemical components from limestone and dolomite rock.
The stone forest of Yunnan has different types of karst landscape, of various formations and structures such like the elephant, Twin tower, hanging bridge and so on.
PACKAGE COSTS:
Few package tours are there for China trip like 9n/10d costs INR 99,999(per person) OR may be some customized package tour of 5n/6d costs around INR 46,000 (per person) including meals, accommodation, sight seeing.
So if someone feels like getting the flavour of this Asian photogenic country then can add China in their list of travel destinations.
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This karst topography looks very colourful and a much watch jaw dropping scenic site of Kunming.
