Yunnan Special: Blossoming beauty in the Naigu Stone Forest

When in full bloom in September and November, coreopsis flowers seem to outdo the world-famed stone forests that surround them.

Visitors to Shilin Yi autonomous county in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, are thronging to see the novel blossoms first planted this year.

The paths between flowerbeds are stamped with different-sized footprints after visitors take some scenic pictures of the Naigu Stone Forest.

Naigu means ancient and black in the local Yi language, but it now has something new and colorful.

Early this year, the county government made a decision to grow flowers on vacant land, said Wang Bing, Party chief of Shilin.

"Then we picked up coreopsis as it blooms from September to November, which should be the best time for visitors during some major holidays such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday. The area was designed to be 133 hectares and will be enlarged next year," Wang said.

The plants, which usually grow in clumps and hold their daisy-like flowers on tall stems above the foliage, add another attraction to the imposing Naigu Stone Forest, which the UNESCO World Heritage Committee found to have aesthetic values and outstanding scientific significance.

Most coreopsis varieties are very easy to grow and are not particular about soil quality.

Visitors walking amid the flowers find the fragrance overlaid with the shining sunlight in autumn.

Photographers are particularly enthusiastic about pictures as the flowers show their clear yellow and pink colors.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, the management bureau for the county's scenic spots invited 20 couples to the Naigu Stone Forest where photographers were available free of charge.

During the Golden Week holiday, many young couples took their wedding pictures in Naigu as the bureau planned.

This season is an excellent trial that has proven successful, said Zhou Linchun, director of the management bureau.

The Yi ethnic people have a long-time tradition centered on Ashima culture in the long narrative poem, and the Naigu Stone Forest will be built as a destination for the young generation born after 1985 in the next several years, Zhou said.

The bureau plans to make it a wedding site that will enrich the local culture and stimulate the service industry, including restaurants, hotels and other entertainment and leisure sectors, said Zhou.

After enjoying all the beautiful sights, visitors can also order an appetizing hotpot of Guishan black goat meat, a product with a geographic indication trademark, which costs 35 yuan ($5.7) for each person.

There is a wide range of options for transport from Kunming to Naigu Stone Forest. Five trains run between the provincial capital to Shilin, with the cheapest seat only 6.5 yuan. It costs another 6 yuan from the county seat to Naigu.

Guo Anfei contributed to the story

Contact the writers through huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn