Grassland Stone City 草原石城

About Grassland Stone City

The scenic area presents a stone forest of giant granite blocks in varied shapes, scattered across open ground, which the report likens to crouching beasts, pillars holding up the sky and mysterious castles. It lies in the south of Tuosite township, Jeminay County, and the report describes the granite 'stone eggs', stone chambers, caves and basins — an open list — as formed by dissolution and wind erosion over tens of thousands of years.

The Tongtiandong site lies within the area. Xinhua says it won a place among the country's top ten archaeological discoveries and is Xinjiang's first excavated Palaeolithic site. Excavation from 2016 recovered what Xinhua describes as China's earliest wheat remains at about 5,200 years old, Xinjiang's earliest carbonised broomcorn millet grains, and over a thousand stone tools.

An archaeological workstation at Tongtiandong has a conservation room, a specimen display room and a site-culture display room, and serves as a public window on the excavation's results.

What to look for

• The granite 'stone eggs', stone chambers, caves and basins that Xinhua describes
• The Tongtiandong cave site, which Xinhua says is Xinjiang's first excavated Palaeolithic site
• The archaeological workstation's specimen display room and site-culture display room

Location & getting there

Getting to Grassland Stone City

Use an authorised visitor route. Cave sections, geological sites and access roads can close independently, so confirm the area that your ticket covers.

• Search for 草原石城 with 阿勒泰地区 and 吉木乃县.