Plateau Earth Pillar Forest

The rare plateau earth pillar forest in the world is located at Fengjiahui Village, five kilometres north of ancient Qikou Town. The pillars differ greatly in height and thickness: some rise more than ten metres, while others are merely over two metres tall. They share one identical feature — every pillar is capped with a flat stone slab.

According to geologists, these pillars took shape after an earthquake one hundred thousand years ago. Rock boulders tumbled down the mountain and settled on the slope. Protected by these huge stones, the underlying loess survived long-term erosion by rainwater and running water, eventually forming these earth pillars.

There is also a time-honoured folk legend about the formation of the pillar forest:

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people lived under Mongolian rule, and the Qikou area was no exception. In the late Yuan period, the imperial court was extremely corrupt, and local officials acted arbitrarily and committed all manner of crimes. The Mongolian chieftain governing Qikou was an especially cruel tyrant. He burned houses, looted property, raped women, and the common people dared not voice their anger. Still fearing a Han uprising, he ordered that all kitchen knives be chained firmly to chopping boards so they could not be easily removed. Worst of all, every year on his birthday, he would sacrifice a young boy and a girl aged six or seven. He drank their blood and ate their hearts, claiming this ritual would grant him immortality.

One year, as his birthday drew near, his subordinates had already selected two children for him. On the big day, the two families could not bear to hand over their kids. They made a pact to hide the children and face execution themselves. They took the youngsters and concealed them in the remote valley of Fengjiahui Village.

When the chieftain waited in vain, he learned that the children had been hidden. Enraged, he led his troops to hunt them down. It did not take long for the soldiers to find the hiding place, and they advanced forward with murderous intent. Terrified by the approaching army, the two poor children hugged each other and burst into tears.

Their weeping woke the God of the Land. Outraged by such outrageous cruelty, the deity unleashed his supernatural power. Instantly, countless loess pillars shot out of the ground, forming a dense stone forest. Every pillar stood firm and upright, topped with a stone slab just like a warrior’s helmet.

When the Mongolian soldiers arrived, they caught a fleeting glimpse of the two children among the pillars before they vanished. The whole troop charged into the forest. Entry proved easy, but escape became impossible. The children were nowhere to be seen. The soldiers wandered endlessly among the towering pillars, completely lost. Worse still, the stone caps on the pillars seemed to have eyes. They fell accurately onto the soldiers’ heads and bodies, striking faster and faster. Many troops suffered fatal head wounds, while others had their legs broken. The valley echoed with their miserable screams.

By the time the remaining soldiers retreated, nearly half of the army had been killed or injured. The chieftain’s birthday celebration was ruined. From then on, he reined in his brutal tyranny over the Han people and never again sacrificed children on his birthday.

The pillars that lost their stone caps gradually weathered away over wind and rain. Those sheltered by the stone slabs, which acted like umbrellas, were shielded from erosion and have survived to this day.

The earth pillar forest is 5 kilometres away from ancient Qikou Town. If you do not drive, you can rent a local car for no more than 30 yuan for the trip