Red Stone Forest

Red Stone Forest in Xiangxi, Hunan Province is the only red carbonatite stone forest in China. The stones’ history dates back to 500 million years ago. As an important sight in Xiangxi Geological Park, which has been listed among World Geological Parks, the Forest owns red stones of a variety of shapes like lotus, and bamboo shoots. Other majestic landscapes include sky holes and deep valleys. In this prehistoric site, the fossils of ancient ocean creatures are also for you to explore. What’s more, you can learn the customs of the Tujia ethnic minority here. 
 In the Forest, countless stone peaks, stone bamboo shoots, and stone walls display their beauty before your eyes. You may feel surprised by their changeable colors in different times of the day, or weather conditions. On clear days, they appear red like the burning fire, while turn dark under the pervading mist on rainy days; when the sun shines brightly again after the rain, an oil painting of purple and red colors would be conjured from the original dark “Chinese ink painting”. 

The major places to see those red stones in the Forest include Yangzi Ancient Sea, Ordovician Seabed, Treasure Lawn, and Stone Lotus. Treasure Lawn and Stone Lotus are unique. The former looks like jewelry scattering on the ground, while the latter a blooming lotus. In addition, there would be yellow light above the “lotus” when the sky is clear after the rain. Locals consider such an amazing scene “Lotus Throne of Buddha Avalokitesvara”.
 There are fossil groups of ancient ocean creatures in the Red Stone Forest, such as trilobites and nautilus. They are the witnesses of the most mysterious Cambrian life explosion in history.
 Along the central axis of the Forest lie 3 pools: Heavenly Pool, Earthly Pool, and Human Pool. Among them, Heavenly Pool is the no.1 sight to see. The red stones are reflected in the clear water, with some other high or low red rocks standing in the Pool, forming amazing scene.
 A group of canyons are another feature of Red Stone Forest. They are about 100-meter-long, 3-meter-wide, and 30-meter-high. Walking in the canyons, the sky you can see is very narrow. It is quiet here, thus suitable to take a walk.
 Altar of Protecting God is on the highest point in the Forest. Local people usually come here to offer sacrifice to gods on important festivals. Here, there is a Mulberry tree fossil which is said to enable wizards and gods to converse in legends.
 Every spring, nice flowers bloom in the Forest, especially those in Huaerbao Garden. The colorful flowers full of life decorate the red cold stones and swing with the wind by ponds and on the grassland, contributing to even more beautiful scenery.
 Apart from watching the brilliant natural beauty, Tujia dancing, folk customs about love, and delicious food will also leave you a deep impression. 
 In Red Stone Forest, there is a widespread saying about romance “My love for you will last forever just like the stones here, which won’t decay even after the sea has dried.” For this, it has been the holy land for both young lovers and elder couples. When coming here, the must-see places are Lucky Gate, Snog Gate, and Couple Stones.
 Local people living around Red Stone Forest still preserve traditional Tujia culture and customs. For example, you can watch Waving Dancing, Maogusi Dancing, and E’ba Dancing, all of which are only peculiar to Tujia Ethnic groups. Other featured Tujia activities include appreciating festival lanterns and Nuo Opera – a religious ritual to pray for blessings.
 Red Stone Forest is a good place to taste Xiangxi food, like the bamboo shoots & corn planted on the mountains, the cured meat, glutinous rice cakes, and mellow Maojian Tea.
 Entrance → Yangtze Ancient Sea → Earthly Pool → Human Pool → Ordovician Seabed → Wild Boar Gorge → Baishou Lawn → Huaerbao Garden → Heavenly Pool → Lucky Gate → Fossils Area → Small Dragon Gorge → Tiger Leaping Gorge → Altar of Protecting God → Treasure Lawn → Stone Lotus → Undersea Tunnel → Exit

The time needed is about 2 – 3 hours.
 8:00 – 18:00 
 CNY120 each person
 To get to Red Stone Forest, you need to arrive at Furong Ancient Town first. There are high speed trains from both Changsha and Zhangjiajie running to Furong Ancient Town Railway Station. On arrival, move to Furong Ancient Town Coach Station by taxi in about 10 minutes, and take a minibus running to Red Stone Forest in 40 minutes directly. The minibus ticket price for a single trip is CNY 15 and the frequency is 1 - 1.5 hours.
 After visiting Red Stone Forest, you can take a sightseeing boat to have a 1 hour cruise along the Youshui River with beautiful onshore landscape. Starting from the dock of Red Stone Forest, the boat cruises eastward to pass the Laosiyan Village and Hexi Town, and finally reaches the Furong Ancient Town. The cruise costs CNY 138 per person but the schedule is variable depending on the number of visitors.