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In the scenic area near the Pearl Rivers source, the third longest river in China rises from the Male and Female Cave east of Maxiong Mountain, in Qujing city. Here, the landscape is densely wooded with lush forests, which cover gently rolling hills, while Camellias and Azaleas bloom everywhere. Huashan Lake, clear, bright and quiet, seems boundless and vast. In the nearby Nature Cave, beating stalagmites against the walls can strike up the tunes of the National anthem, the AXi Moon Dance.

The Sand Colored Forest in Luliang has numerous colorful and lofty peaks with in its 6 km2 area. The 1614 figures of Buddha seated in a Pagoda and the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas located in a nearby town are both exceedingly rare. At the Fork of Three Rivers, water flows across the forest, while the forest rises above the water. The Waterfall of Nine Dragons is a series of stones within the river (the largest is 114 meters wide, 57 meters high). Ancient fish fossils from Xiaoxiang Lake date back to 42 billion years and are believed to be some of the earliest in the world. The Cuanbaozi Stele in the city of Qujing is a priceless treasure in the history of Chinese calligraphy.

Luliang Area

Luliang is famous for its rich colored Sand Forest. The International Sand Sculpture Festival is held at the end of March, right after the Chinese New Year, although accommodation is at a premium then. One of the delights of a visit to Luliang is the opportunity to admire, and buy sand art crafts. A sand painting is a distinctive object, based like so many things in the Boyi community, on century old traditions.

From the provincial capital Kunming, take the 324 national freeway and drive just 128 kilometers to reach the Luliang Sand Forest. The Sand Forest was formed thousands and thousands of years ago while this landscape used to be an ocean. The current attraction covers an area of about six square kilometers.

Unlike the common beach sand, the Luliang Sand Forest is a combination of sand and stone that cumulate as prominences and mounts. The glory of reflection from the sunshine reproduces a magnificent view of its distinctive character quite like the Stone Forest, but a finer version.

Due to the nature of a mixture of mud and sand, the hills and mounts have an extraordinary cohesive force making it possible for sculpture artists to create complicated works and statues for the annual International Sand Sculpture Festival. Young artists from America, Canada, England, and France join together with Chinese performers to exercise their creativities with broad imagination.

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