Tengchong is located between the India Plate and Eurasia Plate, where crustal movements are active, earthquakes frequently happen and volcanoes often erupt. There are about 90 conspicuous cones now. Among them, 22 craters remain intact. Around the craters is a combination of scubland, volcanic cinder and volcanic flow, forming a wonderful view- the cluster of volcanoes in Tengchong.
Tengchong volcanoes rank first in China in terms of their variety, size, good preservation and compact distribution. The Tengchong Basin is surrounded by a group of young dormant volcanoes, of which the most famous are Mount Dayinshan, Mount Maanshan, Mount Guipo, the Laifeng Hill, Mount Dakongshan and Mount Xiaokongshan. Mount Dayinshan is known as “the First Volcano” in Tengchong. The mountain is a conic volcano, of which the crater has a diameter of 300 meters and a depth of 100 meters. Mount Maanshan, which is 5 kilometers west of the county seat, is a conic volcano, whose top seems to have been cut off, thus looking like a saddle. Likewise, Mount Guipo is also a conic volcano with its top cut off. Mount Dakongshan, Mount Xianokongshan and Mount Heishan stand in a line from north to south, with a distance of 1,000 meters between them. Their craters range in diameter from 300 to 400 meters and have a depth of several dozen meters. Around the craters there are some black, or red pumice stones which are very light and will not sink into water, so they are called “floating stones”. While visiting the cluster of volcanoes in Tengchong, you will feel how wonderful Nature is, and such feelings can be hardly obtained in any other place.