Karst, that is usually known as limestone, which is an umbrella term for all sorts of phenomenon caused by the geologic process mainly of the chemical corrosion of soluble stones caused by water, and also of the geological effects caused by water erosion, internal erosion and collapse and such mechanical actions. The soluble rocks that involved in are such as carbonate, gypsum and halite.

Karst landform refers to the special physiognomy of bumpy rugged ground surface and underground cave development caused by karst impact of corroding to soluble rocks (Mainly is the most widely distributed carbonate).

Karst landform is controlled mainly by the geologic setting of geologic setting of lithological characters and geographic environment of climate. Basically divided into carbonate karst, gypsum and salt karst according to the lithology character; into bare type, overlay type and buried type of karst according to its existing form; into the karst, half karst or running water karst according to the degree of the development; into the tropical, subtropical, temperate and frigid karst according to the climate landscape; and into vadose (gas-filled) zone, shallow diving (water-filled) zone and deep karst according to the vertical dynamic zone.

The specificity of karst landform is not only at surface configuration, but also at the cause of the cave – karst morphology. Karst landform is a long-term developing result. Positive landforms of surface morphology type are needle karst, isolated peak, monadnock, karst hill and stone spike. Negative landforms of surface morphology type are ponor, doline, vertical shaft, vertical shaft, dry valley, karst depressions, wave made valley, karst plain, karst valley, dissolve ditch and soluble gap, etc. The positive and negative ground surface has a close connection with the underground karst types, will constitute a variety of landforms combination.
There are more than 90 square kilometers of bare karst in China. This makes China to be the country with the most widely distributed karst with most complete karst type. For the particularity of karst landform, the regional economic development and construction problem is also very important; especially the karst rocky desertification problem in southwest China, has become the most serious problem in the area of the ecological geological environment.
Karst landform become a kind of tourist resources for its peculiar shape, underground caves, and the cave air and water characteristics. Such as Guilin Landscape, Stone Forest of Yunnan, Libo Tower Karst in Guizhou, Wulong natural stone bridge, chasm, doline groups are typical representative of the three-dimensional karst landscape.