Rainbow Mountains of Peru: “The ingenious Creation of Nature. The colorful mountains of zhangye danxia

Danxia mountain landscapes- a unique geological phenomenon located in the southeast of China. The colorful hills, formed from red sandstone, resemble a perfect painting created by nature itself. Colors geological park, from scarlet to sky blue, look like a palette of colors spilled over the hills.

Such a natural phenomenon- the result of the movement of the earth's crust, weathering and erosion that occurred over millions of years. Landforms and rocks, different in color, texture and size, create special landscapes with many caves, grottoes, ravines and valleys, as well as natural columns and towers.

All these bizarre wave-like paintings have been created over many, many years. A hundred million years ago there was a giant lake here. Many rivers flowed into the lake, which, feeding it, brought with them various sands full of metals. The sand accumulated layer by layer, and when the reservoir dried up, sedimentary rocks were exposed. They include a variety of metals, which, when oxidized, created and create a bizarre palette. Scientists believe that it was formed in the Mesozoic era and contains many dinosaur fossils and plant remains of that period. By the way, some of them have already been discovered.

Previously, in this mountainous area, the Great Silk Road passed and hundreds of merchants passed through the famous Zhangye city which was famous for its bazaars. In those days, Zhangye was a prosperous and wealthy city. But even then, this city was of interest to many not only as a huge market, but also as a place with unearthly colorful landscapes.

Entrance ticket to Danxia Nature Reserve will cost 40 CNY (~$6.6). Another 20 CNY (~$3.3) will be required to pay for excursion program. This fee is mandatory, walk around colorful hills alone is prohibited. Best time to visit the geological park - from June to September.

Inside the reserve created bus routes; groups form at the main entrance. Tours are conducted only in Chinese, however, with prior agreement and the presence of a sufficient number of tourists, the management of the geological park can provide an English-speaking guide. Buses stop at the four most picturesque points of the reserve, giving tourists time to self inspection(about 20 minutes at each stop). Total time travel around Danxia - about two hours.

In Zhangye, you can hardly find a person who speaks English tolerably, so in case you plan to stay in the city for the night, it is better to book a hotel or guest house in advance.

You can see the blood-red shades of the rocks in another nature reserve China - Shaoguan Danxia Mountain, located 279 kilometers north of Guangzhou. The path to the mountain range runs through Shaoguan, the capital of the district of the same name.

How to get to Danxia Nature Reserve

colorful landscapes rock complex Danxia located one hour west of the city Zhangye. If you are traveling with a rental car, follow the S213 gravel road west for about forty kilometers. mountain range Danxia will be right hand, right after the bridge over the river; the nearby village of Nantai (Nantaicun) serves as a landmark.

There are no organized tours to the natural attraction from the nearest city of Zhangye, so the best way to get to the reserve is by taxi. On average, viewing multi-colored landscapes - within bus tour inside the park - takes two to three hours. It will be better if the taxi driver waits for you while you walk along the rocky ledges, and then takes you to the city. The round trip will cost from 150 CNY (~$24.6) to 180 CNY (~$29.5).

Get to Zhangye from Beijing, Shanghai and more major cities China's best way is through Lanzhou, administrative center and the provincial capital of Gansu. Daily flights connect Lanzhou with Beijing; travel time - 2 hours 10 minutes.

A rail link connects Lanzhou and Zhangye; travel time - about five hours (distance about 511 kilometers). Trains T9205, T9203 and T9201 depart from the provincial capital in the morning, afternoon and evening respectively; Be careful when choosing a night trip: only seats are provided in the carriages. Ticket prices start from 118 CNY (~$19.4) for travel in a comfortable soft carriage.

Bright colors are pleasing to the eye - reddish sandstone local mountains plays in the sun in many shades. The colored mountains of China are dotted with bizarre drawings reminiscent of sea ​​waves.

Today, tourists from all over the world come to the Chinese province of Gansu to admire the local unusual landscape. The main local attraction is a unique geological formation called the Danxia Landform, which means “pink cloud”.

1. Sometimes it happens that what was once great and beautiful is forgotten over time. A similar fate befell chinese city Zhangye. Thousands of years ago it was a prosperous city, one of the richest in the country. The Great Silk Road passed here, and hundreds of merchants came here every day to buy or sell something. But even then, many people were interested in Zhangye not as a huge market where everything could be bought, but as a place with unearthly colorful landscapes.

2. After some time, the Great Silk Road began to gradually lose its popularity, and then it was completely abandoned. And over time, the whole world forgot not only about once great city Zhangye, but also about its main attraction - the Colored Mountains.

5. Already in our time, this place was again remembered after a Chinese director filmed one of the scenes of his film in the colored mountains. It made an unforgettable impression on everyone who saw this scene ... So Zhangye again became a favorite route for thousands of tourists.

7. "Landscape of Denxia" - this is the name under which the colored mountains of China are known throughout the world. The formation of this beauty began many millions of years ago, as a result of the accumulation a large number sandstone and other mineral deposits. Under the influence of air and water, these deposits slowly oxidized, which was the reason for such an unusual riot of colors.

9. The landscape of Danxia owes such an unusual color to heterogeneous precipitation, a giant accumulation of red sandstone and centuries of soil erosion. Layering and interacting with each other, they formed bizarre patterns resembling sea waves on every mountain, on every ledge.

12. Scientists believe that the Danxia landscape was formed back in the Mesozoic era and contains many dinosaur fossils and plant remains from that period. By the way, some of them have already been discovered.

The studio has both traditional painting workshops - oil painting, acrylic painting, watercolor painting, as well as arts and crafts workshops on painting T-shirts, creating crafts from eco-materials. All master classes are suitable for beginners and do not require special skills. Under the guidance of the master, each guest will create their own work and can immediately take it with them.

Schedule of master classes in the art studio "Colored Mountains" on Rosa Khutor:

Schedule of master classes in the art studio "Tsvetnye Gory" in the Hotel Polyana 1389 (STC Gazprom):

Schedule of master classes in the Tsvetnye Gory art studio at the Grand Hotel Polyana (GTC Gazprom):

Danxia Landscape in China, they call a unique type of earth's surface, which is characterized by red sandstones and steep rocks created by nature. colorful mountains in China are found on the territory of several provinces in the southeastern and southwestern parts countries. The world famous Danxia Landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Danxia landscapes got their name in honor of the eponymous, located in Chinese province Guangdong.

The colorful mountains in China were formed from red sandstones and conglomerates from the Cretaceous period (from about 120 million years ago to about 65 million years ago). They contain many dinosaur fossils and plant remains from that period.

Steep cliffs were formed both due to external influences (erosion, weathering and other forms of influence environment) and internal growth.

Observation deck:

Natural influences, layering on each other, formed bizarre patterns, reminiscent of sea waves, on every mountain, on every ledge.

Many centuries ago, this place was the richest in China. The Great Silk Road passed through it. But, gradually with the fading of trade in this direction and the emergence of new routes, the province fell into decline. The beautiful landscape of the local mountains in China was also forgotten.

After a long time, this unusual place became popular again after the release of the 2009 film directed by Zhang Yimou with the ornate title "A Simple Noodle Story". Although not particularly popular, the film nevertheless rediscovered the beauty of the red sandstone relief to the whole world.

The place experienced its second birth, and caravans of tourists again came here to see the colorful landmark with their own eyes.

The "young" Danxia landscapes have deep and narrow valleys. As such valleys "age", they expand, and isolated peaks, towers and ridges appear on their territory.

Another characteristic feature of the Danxia landscape is the appearance of numerous isolated and narrow caves of various sizes and shapes. Despite the lifelessness, there are many forests in which the most different types plants and animals. 400 species of living organisms in Danxia landscape areas are considered rare or endangered.

In August 2010, six Danxia landscape areas that are in southern China, have been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites under common name"The Danxia Landscape in China". These six districts include Danxia Mountain in Guangdong Province, Lan Mountain in Hunan Province, Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi Province, Jianglang Mountain in Zhejiang Province, Chishui District in Guizhou Province, and Taining in Fujian Province.

You can wander through the colorful mountains, there are special paths here:

The picture created by nature in the Chinese town of Zhangye must be seen with your own eyes. The impression left by this unusual landscape you will remember for the rest of your life. Mountains, similar to a soft and fluffy blanket brightly painted with multi-colored paints that covered the Earth - this is the first impression.

On vacation, someone likes to lie on the beach, others like to hang out at discos. Those for whom good vacation is, first of all, a journey and an opportunity to see new unusual places on our planet, Zhangye Danxia Mountains will appreciate. This attraction, included in 2010 in the List world heritage UNESCO, is located on the territory of the Geological Park near the city of Zhangye in the Chinese province of Gansu. Officially, this mountain formation is called Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park. In some other sources, the mountain formation is called Zhangye Danxia due to the difference in translations.

The beauty of these places, which we see in the photographs, seems unnatural. As soon as you are in place, the fantastic landscape, which takes your breath away, you want to call it ethereal, created for a film about other worlds. It turns out not at all. The nature of our planet is capable of creating such great places. This is ours, earthly - the researchers say.

Once 100 million years ago, this territory was the bottom of a huge reservoir. As a result of the seismic activity of the Earth or other cataclysms, from which the dinosaurs also died out, the water in this pool evaporated 70 million years ago, and bottom sediments hardened and formed, as geologists say, a "chalk bed", that is, the age of this Wonder of the World is decent. The view from above on these mountains resembles a fluffy, soft blanket, and the mountains are folds on it. Zhangye Danksia - a plaid on the "chalk bed" of the Earth.

The word "Cretaceous" in the name is indicated by the period in which it was formed. The composition of this formation is red sandstone and sedimentary rocks of the Cretaceous period. The rocks formed during this period contain iridium, a chemical element that is very rare on Earth. Under the influence of the environment, precipitation, atmospheric phenomena of the millennium, these stones acquired their modern look.

Multi-colored - the result of the oxidation of sandstone and other rocks, different layers of which, depending on the content of certain substances in them, reacted differently to atmospheric phenomena. New rivers that cut their way and the movement of rocks shaped the landscape. Then the rivers dried up again, and now we see the result of the painstaking work done by nature over many millions of years. In these mountains there are many small caves and grottoes that are interesting to visit. Each cave is isolated from the others.

Some mountains are covered with vegetation. The colors of wildlife add juicy bright colors to this landscape. Here you can organize an amazing photo shoot in its beauty and unusualness. For the artist, nature has created such landscapes that without much effort on your imagination, you can paint pictures of extraterrestrial civilizations. And just a landscape painted from the nature of this region will not leave indifferent art connoisseurs.

Come here for inspiration and strength. A few days spent surrounded by the majestic creations of nature, among peace and tranquility, away from the bustle of the city, will energize you for a long time. The well-deserved recognition of the Zhangye Danxia Mountains as a new Wonder of the World has made them in demand among tourists from all over the world. In a small quiet town Zhangye, in the vicinity of which the colored mountains are located, is in full swing with landscaping. Now you can stay in a comfortable hotel for a reasonable price by European standards.

Services for tourists

For the convenience of tourists who come to see this natural phenomenon, convenient paths have been laid, safe viewing platforms from which opens beautiful view. The mountains in all their glory appear before you at sunset and you need to admire them in right place, where you will be brought by a bus plying through the park.

For comfortable sightseeing, there is a bus network with convenient routes. You can rent a car with a driver for the whole day - the price is negotiable. Car and bicycle rentals are available. For lovers hiking paths have been laid. Other services may be available for your arrival. Generally profitable. travel business does not stand still.

The area of ​​the national geological park is huge, and it is possible that it will take more than one day to have time to see everything. But so much effort has been spent for this that it is not worth rushing to enjoy contemplation.

What other sights to see

Since this Chinese pearl is not yet widely known, there are few foreigners here. Therefore, without too much fuss and crowds, you can admire the surrounding beauties, take pictures and shoot as much as you like. You can also visit other attractions in this area of ​​China:

• Monastery "Mathisy" 70 km from the city at an altitude of 2,500 meters, surrounded by snowy hills
• castle Big Buddha in the city center, where you can look at the statue 34 meters high and 7.5 meters wide
• sutra museum, which hosts an exhibition of rare golden sutras, the sutras of the emperor

How to get there

There are several ways to get to Changzhou:

• direct train from Beijing and other cities in China to Zhangye
• train: from Lanzhou City, the capital of Gansu Province, which you can reach by plane
• plane: the airport is located 13 kilometers from the city. Flights from various Chinese cities arrive there.
• bus: intercity buses fly from Chinese cities to Zhangye

You just have to choose for yourself suitable option depending on cost, comfort and travel time.

Every person at the end of his life regrets two things: that he loved little and saw little. It is wonderful that on our planet there are man-made and natural wonders, looking at which you want to know the world more and more, so that there is something to remember, and not to regret anything at the end of the journey.

Also, for those who decide to go on vacation to China on their own, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with