STONE FOREST

ACCESS

　　The Stone Forest (Shi Lin) is a well-known tourist attraction 100 km east of Kunming, in what is now called Stone Forest (formerly Lu Nan) Yi Autonomous County. LOCATION MAP Tourists are shuttled there either by bus or by the very convenient express train that departs regularly from the South Train Station in Kunming. The train ride takes 90 minutes and drops you at a seemingly improbable location in the rural countryside of central Yunnan. Stone 　　Forest Park is about 5 km from the train station and nearly all passengers will transfer to the various other forms of transportation waiting outside the station. The rock climbing is in the vicinity of the train station. Checkout any China or Yunnan guidebook for the details of Stone Forest access.

ROUTES

　　In 1999 and early 2000, Ma Zhiyong, Wang Zhiming, Zhou Chenshu and others, in the first attempt at Yunnan sport climbing, bolted 2 routes on limestone towers within 2 km of the train station. There are also two or three trad routes in the same area, including the one listed here. The formations containing these climbs are difficult to locate without someone to guide you. They are widely dispersed and embedded within a landscape with many similar-looking features.
　　Several factors contributed to the Stone Forest climbing being abandoned in 2000. The travel time and cost between Kunming and the Stone Forest makes it inconvenient for regular day trips. The climbs are short and generally lack diversity. And the Stone Forest cannot compete with the much superior climbing terrain of the Western Hills and Fumin Canyon, which are easily accessible from Kunming.

LIJIANG

ACCESS

　　In the last 10 years, Lijiang has become a well-known Chinese tourist destination. Although best known for its massive tourism, there are growing opportunities for trekking and other forms of adventure tourism in the surrounding mountains and canyons. Any guidebook to China has access information for Lijiang.
　　The river that drains the mountains and plains surrounding Lijiang cuts through a range of low hills south of town, on its way toward the Jinsha (Yangtze) River. The main highway from Dali to Lijiang (and from the airport to Lijiang) follows this narrow canyon. In 2002, the owner of a small café in Lijiang Old Town put up the first climbing routes near the mouth (south end) of the canyon. From Lijiang, head south on Highway 214 for about 20 km, passing through the toll gate, through a narrow gap in the hills, and descending to the agricultural plain. Near the bottom of the hill a dirt road intersects the highway on the right. Turn on to this and travel west and north, winding around some low hills and skirting the edge of the crop fields, crossing the bridge at the mouth of the canyon. The climbs are all on the crags on the west side of the river beginning at the mouth of the canyon. 　　

ROUTES

　　To date, there are 6 bolted routes, listed from downstream to upstream. PICTURE & TOPO