Zhangye Danxia (Rainbow Mountains)

Zhangye National Geopark (Qicai Danxia Scenic Area) · Zhangye, Gansu

Hills striped like a painter's palette in red, orange, yellow, green and purple, rolling for kilometres along the foot of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu's Hexi Corridor. Layers of sandstone and siltstone laid down in ancient lakes and rivers over millions of years were stained by iron and other minerals, then tilted and raised by the same collision that lifted the Tibetan Plateau, and carved by wind and rain into ridges of banded colour. The Qicai (Seven-Colour) Danxia scenic area of Zhangye National Geopark shows them from four boardwalk viewing platforms linked by shuttle buses, and the colours glow deepest at sunset and after rain. It is an easy trip from Zhangye West high-speed station on the Silk Road rail line between Lanzhou and Dunhuang.

Qicai Danxia Scenic Area, Zhangye National Geopark, Linze County, Zhangye, Gansu, China

Daily. Peak season (April-October) roughly 5:30-19:00 for entry, with visitors staying on the platforms until sunset; off-season roughly 8:00-17:30. Shuttle buses run the loop throughout opening hours.

Zhangye Danxia (Rainbow Mountains) on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos