A person usually likes everything colorful. And if the conversation turns to some colorful sights of the world, then all his attention is focused on them. Whether it's colored lakes or sands of various shades. After a person learns about the colorful lakes of the Kelimutu volcano and the even more colorful sands of Chamarel, he (and with him you) just need to learn about the Colored rocks of Zhangye Danxia. There is such an interesting place in China, where the rocks are painted in countless colors with a predominance of brown and red shades. This natural wonder is located in Gansu province near the town of Zhangye in the northern foothills of the Qilianshan range. The Colored Mountains are part of the National Park of the same name in China. These places were declared a National Park only in November 2011. The area of the park is 510 km2. Zhangye Danxia colored rocks on the map Geographical coordinates 38.935951, 100.107614 Distance from the capital of China Beijing about 1400 km To the nearest airport of Jiayuguan city about 190 km Distance to the nearest International airport of Lanzhou County (Zhongchuan) 400 km Amazing iridescences of almost all colors of the rainbow can be observed on numerous hills scattered throughout the National Park. In general, it is simply unrealistic to describe such a thing in words. You have to see it with your own eyes. It is not for nothing that tourists from all over the world strive to get to these protected and colorful places. From a distance, it seems that a giant artist who painted mountain landscapes a long time ago turned out to be upset about something and decided to mix the colors on a huge easel, and leave them to us as a legacy. Well, of course it's lyrical, in fact everything is much more prosaic. The rocks here consist of red sandstone and Cretaceous rocks. Scientists suggest that about 100 million years ago there was a huge reservoir in these places, into which the waters deposited countless amounts of silt. Further, under the influence of various external factors, the giant pool dried up, and everything that accumulated at its bottom began to oxidize and acquire such a variety of colors. Time passed, over millions of years a layer of about 3,700 meters thick of red sandstone was formed, and at the top a layer of 1,300 meters has already been formed since the Cretaceous period. The peaks of Mount Danxia began to form from this layer. We will not go deep into the theories of geology. Let's just say that once again, for the millionth time, the planet surprises us with its inexhaustible imagination. After the Colored Mountains of Zhangye Danxia became known far beyond the borders of China, strings of travelers came here. The once quiet and sleepy town of Zhangye has become the starting point for hiking to the Colored Mountains. For the convenience of visitors, wooden decking and stairs were built here. The guys from Unesco didn't miss this corner either, and added it to the World Heritage List in 2010 (it's strange why they didn't do it earlier?).
