Stonehenge? I thought we were in China...

In China, nearly every public sign has an English translation. Finding that English is used so widely, even in a country literally across the world and so culturally different, has made me realize what a universal language English has become. I saw many "foreigners" while traveling through China too, and nearly every one I met (though most were not from an English speaking nation) could speak English fluently. I knew this, since I made it my business to start a conversation with each and every foreigner I saw. 


Although there is English everywhere in China, there are many signs written incorrectly. Here are a few funny examples.

This picture below was taken at a place called Shi Lin 石林, which translates to English as Stone Forest. 

Although the sign here says Stonehenge, we had actually arrived at the Stone Forest. Someone had used a tool like Google translate and probably thought Stonehenge fit the bill. 

I bet if they knew that Stonehenge was actually in England, they would think this sign was pretty funny.

As a school field trip one day during our stay in Kunming, we traveled out of the city to get to the Stone Forest. The Stone Forest is literally a forest of these rock pillars, high and strangely shaped that tower over you as you walk the trails in and around them. Many look like petrified trees, and therefore give the illusion of a forest made of stone. It is a special type of karst landform that was actually at one point entirely underwater. 

These rock pillars spread widely over an area of over 26,000 hectare (a hectare is equal to 100 acres). Only 80 hectare of this area is open to visitors. The Stone Forest has been named a World Heritage Site and has been added to the list of the World Wonders.

It is very hard to explain the beauty of a place like this. A camera cannot possibly capture what you see when you get to the top of several rock pillars. Looking out and seeing nothing but huge rocks that surround you for miles is unbelievable. I certainly tried to capture this on film, but couldn't possibly do it justice. Here are just a few of the hundred pictures I took that day.