VINTAGE POSTCARD 1970
Zhangye Danxia / Rainbow Mountains (1,500 to 2,500 m - 4,921 to 8202 ft)
China
The mountains
Zhangye Danxia (1,500 to 2,500 m - 4,921 to 8202 ft) is known for the unusual colours of the rocks, which are smooth and sharp. Like in alt the others parts of the world where this kind of so called rainbow Mountain can be found, they are the result of deposits of sandstone and other minerals that occurred over 24 million years. In the case of the Zhangye Danxia, 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.
Zhangye Danxia is located inside The Gansu Zhangye National Geopark (甘肃张掖国家地质公园), in Sunan and Linze counties within the prefecture-level city of Zhangye,in the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains (祁连山). It covers an area of 322 square kilometres (124 sq mi). The site became a quasi-national geopark on April 23, 2012 . It was formally designated as ″Gansu Zhangye National Geopark″ by the Ministry of Land and Resources on June 16, 2016 after it has passed the on-site acceptance test. Known for its colorful rock formations, it has been voted by Chinese media outlets as one of the most beautiful landforms in China.
The core area of the park, Linze Danxia Scenic Area, is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of downtown Zhangye and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the seat of Linze County. It is the most developed and most visited part of the park. A second scenic area, Binggou (冰沟), located on the north bank of Liyuan River (梨园河), was officially inaugurated on 3 August 2014.
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.
