Zhangye Danxia landform Or National Geopark in Gansu, China

The Gansu Zhangye National Geopark is located in Sunan and Linze counties within the prefecture-level city of Zhagye. It covers an area of 322 square kilometers.

The Zhangye Danxia land form area is unbelievably colourful, like an imaginative oil painting.

The site became a Quasi national geopark on April 23,2012 (Provisional name: Gansu Zhagye Danxia Geopark). It was formally designated by the Ministry of Land and Resources on June16, 2016 after it has passed the on-site acceptances test. Known for its colorful rock formation. The unusual colours of the rocks are the result of red sandstone and mineral deposits being laid over 24 million years.                                                                                                                            

Zhangye’s Dancxia was formed by the erosion of red stone, forming isolated peaks and steep stratified outcrops. Its special geological structure, combined with long-term desert conditions, freeze-thaw peeling, and wind and water erosion gave rise to its present appearance.

which are smooth, sharp and several hundred meters tall.. The result, similar to a layer cake, is connected to the action of the same tectonic plates responsible for creating parts of the Himalayan mountains. Wind, rain, and time then sculpted extraordinary shapes, includingtowers, pillars, and ravines, with varying colours, patterns, and size.

Geologists believe that Danxia topography is formed by folding of layered oceanic crust. Exposed slanting rock layers have different colors, textures, shapes, sizes, and patterns. The combination of differences in density and erosion create towering peaks, cave holes, and stone halls. Zhangye's Danxia landscape has lots of precipitous red cliffs, most of which are several hundred meters high, and multicolored ridges of weathered strata, sometimes stretching to the horizon. These formations, sometimes smooth sometimes sharp, stand  out against the greens or grays of the plains , looking grand and magnificent, vigorous and virile.

There are sightseeing cars available within the national park, where other tourist buses are not allowed to go. The distance between the four viewing platforms is around eight kilometers (5 miles), and it takes about 2 hours to finish the whole trip when taking the sightseeing cars.