Striped hills
In rainbow colours.
YubYub41 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Marcus Hsu — CC BY-SA 4.0 · xiquinhosilva — CC BY 4.0 · H2v5o68z — CC0 · Terry Wu — CC BY-SA 2.0 · H2v5o68z — CC0 · Terry Wu — CC BY-SA 2.0 · xiquinhosilva — CC BY 4.0
Hills striped in red, orange, yellow, green and violet as if painted, lying in the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu province; they are the heart of Zhangye Geopark, which covers 322 square kilometres, became a national geopark in 2016 and a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2019. Their colours come from layers of sandstone and minerals laid down over 24 million years like the layers of a cake, then tilted by the same movements that raised the Himalayas and carved by wind and rain into towers, pillars and ravines; Chinese media picked them in 2005 among the most beautiful Danxia landforms in China. Scenic-area buses take visitors between the viewpoints, linked by boardwalks and paths that lead close to the rock formations; the hour of sunset, when the colours blaze, or the time after rain, when they look sharpest, is loveliest, and to the west lies Binggou, part of the same geopark and known for rocks carved into castle-like shapes. The entry ticket has cost CNY 70 since 5 January 2026, per Zhangye's development commission, plus about CNY 20 for the scenic-area bus, with opening from 7:30 to 17:00, per visitor guides. The drive from central Zhangye takes about 40 minutes, and the town has halal restaurants run by Hui Muslims.
In rainbow colours.
And boardwalks.
Castle-like rocks.
Danxia Scenic Area, Linze County, about 30 km west of central Zhangye
Entry has been CNY 70 since January 2026, plus about CNY 20 for the scenic-area bus, per visitor guides.
From June to October, with the hour before sunset, when the colours are strongest, or the time after rain being loveliest, per visitor guides.