Name: The Hill of Chinese Stones | 奇石山公园
Where: Shizuishan, Ningxia, China | 石嘴山
What to do: Walk through a quite park and see the landscape and new stone formations.
Getting there: Take a bus from the center city of Shuizuishan and get off when you first see water. The entrance to the park goes up a hill.
Cost: Free
The developing skyline of Shizuishan from the park.
One of the odder attractions advertised in Shizuishan was the “Hill of Chinese Stones”, and no, I did not make that name myself. It is a self-proclaimed popular tourist attraction boasting thousands of stone images, carvings, and even a mysterious dilapidated gate looking as if it were the sole remnant of some forgotten structure. We stumbled upon it by chance when we exited the bus from Yinchuan in order to walk around the lakeshore of the town.
The first stoneworks you’ll see past the entrance.
The oddly incomplete gate in the distance.
True to form, as is with many top-rated attractions in the country this park is exceedingly recent to the point where much of it is still incomplete. It seems to be in a state of permanent construction. And while there are a full compliment of workers to maintain the landscaping, there was no sign of anything being actively built or nearing completion.
Whether or not the fault of the landscapers, much of the land was scarcely covered in patchy, unkempt grass or devoid of it entirely. Most of the large, standing stones the park was named for were in place. However, there were also a large number of them strewn about waiting to be relocated.
Add to that the random piles of bricks everywhere. Trash and broken beer bottles surrounded the gate-structure as ignored, uncut rebar stuck out from its top.
The gate up close. It was surrounded with sparse grass and garbage.
And the bees… For some inexplicable reason, this site was home to thousands and thousands of bees who seemed to be nesting in every stone. They didn’t bother us during our walk through the park, but they are everywhere.
The park under construction.
The park under construction.
It looks as if the Hill of Chinese Stones park will be nice once it is completed. However, there were no signs that will be any time soon.
