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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
The Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, also known as Zhangye Danxia (Landform) Geopark, is a small park about 40km from Zhangye where you can see a unique geological landscape, one of the highlights of the Gansu Province.
Known for its colorful rock formations, it has been voted by Chinese media outlets as one of the most beautiful landforms in China.
It
covers an area of 510 square kilometres. Formerly a provincial park and
scenic area, it became a national geopark in November 2011.
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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 core area of the park, Linze Danxia Scenic Area, is located 30 km west of downtown Zhangye and 20 km south of the seat of Linze County. It is the most developed and most visited part of the park. A second scenic area, Binggou, located on the north bank of Liyuan River, was officially inaugurated on 3 August 2014. Binggou covers an area of 300 square km, and its elevation ranges from 1,500 to 2,500 meters above sea level. A third area, Sunan Danxia Scenic Area, is located in Ganjun, south of Linze.
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
Zhangye Danxia is known for the unusual colours of the rocks, which are smooth, sharp and several hundred meters tall. They are the result of deposits of sandstone and other minerals that occurred over 24 million years. 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, including towers, pillars, and ravines, with varying colours, patterns, and sizes.
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
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| Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China! |
The best time to visit the park is from June to September when the weather is nice, and the combination of strong sun and a little rain brings out the colors more. 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.
When you visit you will be driven the viewing platforms by bus, which
you can hop-on and hop-off, taking your time to view and photograph the
scenery.
Media and tourism:
- In 2005, Zhangye Danxia was voted by a panel of reporters from 34 major media outlets as one of the most beautiful Danxia landform areas in China.
- In 2009, Chinese National Geography magazine chose Zhangye Danxia as one of the "six most beautiful landforms" in China.
- The area has become a top tourist attraction for Zhangye.
- A series of boardwalks and access roads have been built to help visitors to explore the rock formations.
- In 2014, 100 million yuan was invested to improve the facilities in the Binggou area.
Beautiful shot! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt is very likely that you end up with terrible tour operators. However, with Green Visa service in Vietnam, it is not likely. I have hired them myself and every single time, experience was just amazing! You surely need to try them out in Vietnam!
ReplyDeleteMost of those pictures are intensely photoshopped.... only the most dull brown photo resembles what the mountains really look like. It was a nice place to visit, but if you go expecting to see an actual rainbow of color then you'll be very disappointed.
ReplyDelete