Stepping onto an ‘exotic planet’ at Moshi Park

A cluster of grey and black rocks standing in rolling hills, this is not a scene from a science fiction movie, nor an exotic planet, but views of Moshi Park in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Spanning 4.8 square kilometers and set at an altitude of around 3,500 meters, Moshi Park boasts an incredible mylonitic rock forest, which is quite distinctive from any other karst or sandstone forest formation found in the world – and considered very rare.

These unique geological landforms were created by the crushing, grinding and shearing action of rocks during neotectonic movement experienced during the Quaternary period. Geologists have dubbed the area the “Bermuda Triangle of Chinese Geology.”

The scenery in the park varies with the seasons. Affected by air humidity, the color of the mylonite forest can change according to the weather. And the surrounding mountains, grasslands and woods provide an ever-changing backdrop of shifting colors.

The park is also a natural botanical garden and a paradise for wildlife, with many rare species of plateau plants and animals inhabiting the area.