Danxia mountain Guide

At first sight at the colourful and playful pictures of the Danxia mountains, it may seem that they are from another world. But these unique and visually rich landforms known as danxia can be found in North-eastern China.
There is often confusion among visitors about what exactly a danxia is as most of them expect to find these spectacular landforms in one central place. The reality is that Chinese geologists have identified 715 Danxia landforms in China scattered especially in the north and in the north-eastern part of China, in the provinces of Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi or Zheijang.
The landform was laid down over a period of 24 million years. What we see today is the result of layers of red sandstone and minerals that was shaped by the exogenous forces like erosion and weathering as well as by tectonic uplift.

Despite their rocky nature the landforms seem to be alive as they change their colours throughout the day depending on the angle the light hits it and the rain. The different colours are the result of different elements. For example the red colour is hematite (mineral form of iron oxide), the paler red and the yellow parts contain more sand and clay while the greenish-grey colour is the result of glauconite, a mineral that is usually found in marine deposits.
The topography of the area includes numerous caves and steep cliffs, accentuating even more its heavenly feeling. Visitors wishing to see the danxia landform in its splendour have many places to choose from and depending on the available time, multiple days can be spent wandering through them.

The danxia landforms are captivating anywhere and it is not easy to recommend particular areas. Some of the most spectacular and colourful rocks can be found in in an area known as the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in the northern province of Gansu.
Another very popular spot to visit is Mount Danxia near Shaoguan, Guangdong province. This particular mountain is the most popular one among the Chinese population and it becomes discovered more by foreign tourists as well.
Starting with 2010 the UNESCO included six danxia landforms in its World Heritage Site list. These six mountains cover an area of 740 square kilometres (or 285 square miles). Although the?Zhangye Danxia?landform is one of the most popular for tourists, it is not part of the world heritage. The six places were collectively included in the list as “China danxia”.

• Zhenyuan Building
• Danxia mountain