Kunming, the capital of Yunan province, is a rapidly expanding metropolis that surprisingly, given China’s 4,000-year history, lacks historical sites. The 270 million-year-old Stone Forest, a two-hour drive outside of the city, makes up for this dearth.
Looking at the karst landscape is a bit like cloud watching: you have to use your imagination to find the pictures, but once you do that's all you can see. Here's what I mean:
Looking at the karst landscape is a bit like cloud watching: you have to use your imagination to find the pictures, but once you do that's all you can see. Here's what I mean:
What does this look like? A tooth
So touching it is supposed to make your teeth better
上刀山下火海 Above knife mountain, below fire sea
bird feeding its baby
my favorite- elephant on perch
mother and son walking
an old man hunched over
Halfway through our hike, one of the Stone Forest’s workers began to walk with Susan, my dad’s business client, and me. Speaking with him personalized some of the problems you hear about in China. In addition to working at the Stone Forest, he is a field hand. He used to own land, making him a middle class peasant (as defined in our Chinese history class), but now must work for others, making him a poor peasant. The land he owned was taken to create a golf course; I did not mention that my brother, at that very moment, was hitting balls on what probably used to be his fields. He said that he did not want to “rent” his land to the company to create the course, but in China you don’t have a choice. Under a Communist government, projects are completed much more efficiently than in a democracy, for the benefit of the group at the expense of the individual.
At the Stone Forest, he works for four hours a day, seven days a week, picking up trash and helping visitors. In a month with 31 days, he works 868 hours; for this work he is paid 500 kuai a month, or $73.52. That is 1.74 kuai, or $0.25, an hour. A quarter will get you much more in China than in America, but still, as Susan commented, that really is not a lot. Meanwhile, admission to the Stone Park is 169 kuai ($24.85) for an adult, 130 ($19.12) for a student, and there were at least a thousand people there that day. Clearly this worker is being exploited, but by whom?
At the Stone Forest, he works for four hours a day, seven days a week, picking up trash and helping visitors. In a month with 31 days, he works 868 hours; for this work he is paid 500 kuai a month, or $73.52. That is 1.74 kuai, or $0.25, an hour. A quarter will get you much more in China than in America, but still, as Susan commented, that really is not a lot. Meanwhile, admission to the Stone Park is 169 kuai ($24.85) for an adult, 130 ($19.12) for a student, and there were at least a thousand people there that day. Clearly this worker is being exploited, but by whom?
the tour guides--I think they're members of the Yi ethnic minority group
Items for sale at the entrance. Each item is handmade, but taken together they look like they're mass produced
If only I were seven
The only way you can get through this area (besides ducking) is by admiring the sky and then moving your left leg forward. I concentrated on my footwork and got stuck for a full minute. Those pictures are too awkward to show.
The Chinese Communist Party should be proud to own this beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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