Tai’an-Type Stone Forest, Xingwen, Sichuan

This is a representative type of carbonate rock stone forest landscape. It is composed of Ordovician limestone, and the Tai’an type in Xingwen, Sichuan Province, is a typical example. The stone forest developed in the Upper Ordovician Baota Formation limestone, which is a thin layer of argillaceous limestone containing mud layers and bioclasts, and it is characterised by tumour-like and turtle crack-like structures. The column bodies are rounded and elegant, and they have several forms, such as pagodas, torches, mushrooms and cones. Parallel concave-convex strips also appear on the column surface as a result of differential weathering, making this a unique landform compared with other types of stone forests. In southwestern China, this type of stone forest developed in the Baota Formation limestone. Other examples are Hongshilin (Red Stone Forest) in Guzhang, Hunan Province, and Wangsheng Stone Forest in Chongqing City, which are second only to the Yunnan Stone Forest as the most...