Xingwen Stone Sea 兴文石海

About Xingwen Stone Sea

The geopark covers 156 square kilometres and is made up of four park areas: Xiaoyanwan, Bowangshan, Tai'an Stone Forest and Lingxiaoshan. Carbonate strata of every age between about 490 and 250 million years ago are preserved within it, carrying marine fossils and sedimentary-facies markers. In February 2005 Xingwen was admitted to UNESCO's second group of Global Geoparks Network members; it is also a national key scenic and historic area and a national AAAA tourist area.

The 'stone sea' itself is a field of limestone pinnacles, shiya, exposed over about 2.2 square kilometres of ground surface. The Xiaoyanwan tiankeng is an oval collapse doline measuring 650 metres east to west and 490 metres north to south, 208 metres deep and walled by cliffs on every side, its floor connected to the underground river of Tianquan Cave. Tianquan Cave is developed in Qixia Formation limestone of the Permian, about 250 million years old, and is a structurally complex multi-level dendritic system controlled by bedding fissures and north-west-trending joints, with a total volume of about 2.7 million cubic metres and a maximum roof-to-floor height difference of 69.68 metres.

The area also carries a human record. The Bo people died out more than five hundred years ago, but the Yibin municipal page lists Bo hanging coffins, Bo tomb groups, the old city of Lingxiao, large and small fort gates, carved stone symbols and bronze drums as surviving within the park, among other remains. Xingwen County has 45,000 Miao residents, more than 11 per cent of its population.

What to look for

• The stone sea itself: limestone pinnacles exposed across about 2.2 square kilometres, the geopark's signature landform.
• Xiaoyanwan tiankeng, an oval collapse doline 650 metres by 490 metres and 208 metres deep, cliff-walled on all sides.
• Tianquan Cave, a multi-level dendritic cave of about 2.7 million cubic metres in Permian Qixia Formation limestone, whose underground river connects to the floor of the tiankeng.
• The Bo remains listed in the park, among them hanging coffins, tomb groups, the old city of Lingxiao, fort gates, carved stone symbols and bronze drums.
• The four separate park areas of the geopark: Xiaoyanwan, Bowangshan, Tai'an Stone Forest and Lingxiaoshan.

Location & getting there

Getting to Xingwen Stone Sea

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 兴文石海 with 宜宾市 and 兴文县.