Bailu Stone Forest Scenic Area

Bailu Stone Forest Scenic Area sits on the border between Bailuzhuang Village and Huangjia'ao Village in Changleping Town, Wufeng County. It covers a total area of 315 hectares, including a 59.5-hectare core zone. Its southern boundary begins 100 metres outside Duzhai Stockade. Stretching northward along the southern mountain ridge past the Baiyan Cliff, it reaches Wachang River and Baojiceng Site. The eastern border runs along the line from the three-way junction in Huangjia'ao to Hejiachong. The scenic area is divided into three parts: Duzhai Peak, Baiyan Cliff and the Stone Forest.

Duzhai Peak is an isolated limestone peak, hence its name. It is also known as Silver Candle Peak and belongs to the Wuling Mountain range. The summit stands at 1,140 metres above sea level with a relative height of about 50 metres. Roughly conical in shape, it is mainly composed of limestone. Stone steps wind up from the foothills through grottoes all the way to the peak. Three parallel caves pierce the mountainside from south to north. According to legend, white deer once cried inside the caves, so they were named Deer Cry Caves. The caves are abundant with stalactites, and ruins of a Guanyin Temple built in the Qing Dynasty can still be found here. Baiyan Cliff forms the entrance leading to the stone forest in Bailuzhuang. The terrain here is distinctive, featuring an echo wall with remarkable acoustic effects.

The stone forest is a genuine forest made entirely of rock, covering around 1.5 square kilometres. It stretches from Hejiachong in Qingyan Village in the upper reaches down to Meijiahe in Bailuzhuang Village, bordered by the rural highway of Huangjia'ao on the left and Hongyankou of Bailuzhuang Village on the right. After years of wind and rain erosion, the rocks have formed sharp sword-shaped peaks, pagoda-shaped pillars, mushroom formations and irregular stone columns, stalagmites and lapies. In particular, clusters of densely packed stone pillars boast fantastic shapes rarely seen elsewhere in the world, making them extremely valuable for sightseeing.

Even more extraordinary is the underground labyrinth hidden beneath the stone forest. This is essentially a fissure-type stone forest. From the ground level, you can see dense stone pillars standing side by side, separated by narrow crevices and deep gullies. Once you climb down into these cracks, you will discover an entirely different world. Most of these fissure valleys are long and narrow, with sheer rock walls on both sides; many are less than five metres wide, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Walking along these passages, you will see steep crags with strangely shaped rocks, jagged lapies, green moss and withered vines covering the walls, while various flowers, grass and trees grow on the valley floor. Crisscrossing caves and winding paths keep twisting and turning, creating the feeling of wandering in an enchanted maze. Therefore, the site is also called the Dream Stone City or Labyrinth of Stone Cracks.

The scenic area has more than 1,000 stone peaks of varying sizes. These jagged rock formations are interconnected and rise abruptly from the ground. The pictographic rocks take countless vivid shapes that spark visitors’ imagination, forming a magical dreamlike stone forest crafted by nature