The Xingwen Stone Sea is a world geological park that preserves carbonate strata from various eras dating back 490 to 250 million years ago
It has been selected by National Geographic China as one of the 'Top 100 Most Beautiful Scenic Spots' for photography.
Driving from Changning County, a day's itinerary mainly includes visiting the three wonders of the scenic area: the surface stone sea, the sinkhole, and the Tianquan Cave, so I purchased a package ticket—admission + tour bus + boat ticket (a total of 115 yuan per person, the tour bus goes back and forth, you can get on and off at any time).
The surface stone sea, also known as the surging waves of stones, is a limestone formation that has been tested by nature over the years, resulting in this stone sea that looks like a flock of sheep climbing a mountain. Remember to take photos here before buying a ticket to enter the park, especially on cloudy days to get the best effect.
Husband and Wife Peaks: After buying the ticket, take the tour bus directly, which saves a lot of energy in the hot summer. The two standing peaks resemble a man and a woman, with a stone in the middle like their marriage certificate, leaning on each other, lifelike. We, who rarely take photos together, also left behind a standard tourist photo.
Bo Wang Fort: The second stop of the tour bus brings you here, where the buildings are made of natural stones. There is a famous attraction here, the hanging coffins of the Bo people on the cliffs. In ancient times, when productivity was backward, it is incredible to think about how these were placed up there. As lunchtime approached, we ate at a local farmhouse here, with farmhouse smoked meat + bamboo fungus and chicken soup, reasonably priced. If you miss this place in the entire scenic area, the only other option is to buy snacks in the caves.
The sinkhole: Commonly known as the giant funnel, it is currently the largest funnel-shaped sinkhole in the world. The grandeur of it cannot be fully captured by a phone camera; it must be seen with your own eyes.
Tianquan Cave: Walking along the steps and admiring the view, when the sun is shining brightly, you come to the third wonder of the stone sea. The cave is an excellent summer retreat. A small opening at the top of the huge cave lets sunlight stream through, and combined with the rainwater accumulated from the previous rainy days, it creates a wonderful visual experience of cascading light and water, with stones on both sides resembling tortoises facing Buddha. Going deeper, there are various stone columns, stone peaks, stone drapes... in thousands of charming forms. Under the colorful lights, you continue forward on a boat, feeling a bit like going through dangerous caves in a tomb-raiding novel. After the boat docks, it's the back exit of the cave, which usually leads out to the county town.
The actual scenery is far more stunning than what photos can convey. No matter how high the resolution, how clever the composition, or how good the technology, it cannot convey the shock of nature's masterful creation.
It is still worth going. The scenic spot is large. Fortunately, there are tour buses throughout the whole process. There are outdoor projects to play in the Yuwang Palace. There are many people who cross the jungle and are very interesting. There are few places to eat in the scenic area, and there are also several farmhouses, but it is best to bring some food yourself. After getting off the big funnel, you must walk to reach the cave. Some places in the cave are still under construction, but it does not affect the play. The whole hole is very large. It takes about 1 hour to visit. In general, it is OK.
Xingwenshihai is very worth a visit. The types of attractions are rich, and many iconic attractions are impressive. It was Xingwenshihai, which just visited Zhijin Cave and then went to Zhijin Cave. I feel that the attractions in Zhijin Cave are still too single and peaceful. Xingwenshihai is a much richer landscape type. My favorite is the Shihai surging waves outside the scenic spot. There is no need for tickets here. If you arrive early, or if you stay in the hotel a few days ago and don't enter the scenic spot, you can play freely and take pictures here.
I arrived next to the epidemic. After buying the ticket, I left the car without entering the high risk. Come back the next year, the scenic spot is very big and the scenery is very awkward, but the staff at the entrance ticket office are very rigid. The tickets bought on the mobile phone have to wait until two hours before letting in, wasting our time! A pretended leader is unreasonable to solve the problem, disappointing... What is particularly incomprehensible is: the world geopark, can't even store a suitcase? ?
Xingwenshihai is located in Shihai Town, Xingwen County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province, with an area of 56 square kilometers. It is a karst terrain, Tiankeng, Karst caves, cave accumulations, waterfalls, melt canyons, paleobiological fossils, storm rock deposits, etc. It is a national geological park and is now a national 4A-level scenic spot. The main attractions have the heart of the earth, the lion cave, the natural longest cave, the spring cave, the surface stone sea a karst wonder, the world's first funnel.
Friends who buy tickets should pay attention to that, those over 60 years old can enter the scenic spot with their ID card without tickets, and they can swipe their ID card. Don't buy that old man ticket anymore. Traffic tickets are personally recommended to buy, but do not take a sightseeing bus as soon as you enter, first slowly play inside, walk through the first line of days to play with the couple's stone, and then take a sightseeing bus to Yuwangzhai to play. After watching the hanging coffin, take the sightseeing bus directly to the big funnel and Tianquan Cave. It is slowly playing inside (we walked fast, almost two hours). The last time in the cave was to take a cruise ship out of the hole, and then take the bus back to the scenic parking lot. The exit of the cave is far from the parking lot and there is no way to walk back. This can save energy and time to the maximum, and do not go back. This is personal advice!