The Zhangye Danxia National Geological
Park , also known as Zhangye Danxia (Landform) Geo park, is located near the
city of Zhangye in China's north western Gansu province. It covers an area of
510 square kilometres (200 sq mi). Formerly a provincial park and scenic area,
it became a national geo park in November 2011. Known for its colorful rock
formations, it has been voted by Chinese media outlets as one of the most beautiful
landforms in China.
Across the Danxia landform zone, a
kaleidoscope of numerous red rocky outcrops resemble weird and amazing shapes
like castles, cones, towers, as well as humans, creatures, birds and beasts.
They are as vivid and organized as the Millennium Castle and, especially with
their peaks peeping through the mist and clouds, produce mirage-like scenery of
fantastic mountains and pavilions.
The park is located in the northern
foothills of the Qilian Mountains, in the counties of Linze and Sunan, which
are under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhangye, Gansu
province. The main areas of Danxia landform are in Kangle and Baiyin townships.
The incredibly colorful "rainbow
mountains" look like they're from an alien planet, but they actually exist
right here on Earth. More precisely, they're part of the Zhangye Danxia
Landform Geological Park in Gansu, China. The rainbow mountains became a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 2010.
Zhangye
Danxia Landform Areas (China Rainbow Mountains) are magnificent with gorgeous colors,
which developed at about 200 million years ago, from the Jurassic to Tertiary.
Covering an area of over 400 square kilometres, it is composed of lots of
smooth and sharp cliffs, most of which are several hundred meters high, and
cliffs look very powerful for their neighbours are plains and rivers. Meanwhile,
those castles, cones, towers, as well as humans-like natural creatures give us
too much imaginations.