Zhangye is in the center of the Hexi Corridor. The area was the frontier for much of China's history, forming a natural passage to the Central Asian portion of the empire. In fact, the name Zhangye (to extend the arm) is an abbreviation of 张国臂掖，以通西域.

Large areas of northwestern China are sparsely populated, and contain stunning scenic like Danxia Landform of Zhangye magnificently multi colored mountains, valleys, hills, and cliffs that ripple away towards 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.

The Danxia landform refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs". It is a unique type of petrographic geomorphology found in China. Danxia landform is formed from red colored sandstones and conglomerates of largely Cretaceous age. The landforms look very much like karst topography that forms in areas underlain by limestones, but since the rocks that form Danxia are sandstones and conglomerates, they have been called "pseudo-karst" landforms.

+ For this Info: [ Ссылка ]

The first studies, on what are now referred to as Danxia landforms, were conducted at Mount Danxia near Shao guan, China. In the 1920s and 1930s Chinese geologists made an effort to learn more about these interesting geomorphic structures. Danxia landforms are made up uplifted continental crust that has been faulted and eroded, exposing large scarps of layered rock, red in color.

The best time to visit Zhangye is from June to September when the weather is comfortable and the combination of strong sun and a little rain brings out the colors more. The rest of the year is very dry. Zhangye is well below freezing and windy in winter. It is best to visit in the morning and at dusk, especially at sunset, when the colors change continuously, showing yellow and red layers covered by a light gray layer. The rocky bands are well defined with colorful stripes and if it rains the day before, this color will be more gorgeous.

Danxia landforms cover several provinces in southeast China. Tainting County, Fujian Province, has very good examples of "young" Danxia landforms wherein deep, narrow valleys have been formed. As the landform gets older, valleys widen and one gets isolated towers and ridges. The Danxia landform is named after Mount Danxia, one of the most famous examples of the Danxia landform. A very peculiar feature of Danxia landscape is the development of numerous caves of various sizes and shapes. The caves tend to be shallow and isolated, unlike true karst terrain where caves tend to form deep, interconnecting networks. In 2010, several Danxia landscapes in southern China, with a general name of "China Danxia", were inscribed as a World Heritage Site.

Join us: [ Ссылка ]

For newly added video’s: [ Ссылка ]

Danxia landform, china, zhangye, rainbow mountains, china danxia, nantaizi village, nijiaying town, painted mountains, parquet zhangye danxia, begen, montanhas, color palette

свернуть