The Danxia landform refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs."
The landforms are unique types of petrographic geomorphology found in China. The Danxia landform is created from red-colored sandstones and conglomerates mainly from the Cretaceous Age. It looks very much like karst topography that forms in areas underlain with limestone, but since the rocks that form the danxia are sandstones and conglomerates, they are referred to as "pseudo-karst" landforms.
The following are the "Top Seven Most Beautiful Danxia Landforms in China" as ranked by China National Geography Magazine.
1. Mount Danxia (Guangdong)
Mount Danxia is a noted scenic area near Shaoguan in the northern part of Guangdong province. The Danxia mountain is formed from a reddish sandstone that has eroded over time forming a range of mountains surrounded by curvaceous cliffs and unusual rock formations (Danxia Landform). It is described by the local signage as a "world famous UNESCO geopark of China." There are a number of temples located on the mountain range and visitor can enjoy many scenic walks in the area. There is also a river that winds through the mountain area and boat trips along the river are offered to visitors.
Danxia Mountain also has a few unique stones such as the Yang Yuan Stone, Yin Yuan Stone, Breasts stone, Sleeping Beauty and other attractions which make Danxia Mountain a "natural sex culture museum." Particularly noted are two formations: a stone pillar called the Yangyuan ("male/father stone") that bears a remarkable resemblance to a phallus and the Yinyuan hole, which somewhat resembles the female labia.
In the 2010 UNESCO list of world heritage sites, Mount Danxia was listed as a natural World Heritage Site as part of China's Danxia landform.
Best travel time: All year around
2. Wuyi Mountains (Fujian)
The Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern Fujian province near the border of Jiangxi province. The mountains were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for cultural, scenic, and biodiversity values in 1999. [Photo/China News Service]
The Wuyi Mountains are located between Wuyishan City, Nanping prefecture in Fujian province and Wuyishan,in the city of Shangrao in Jiangxi province. The world heritage site has a total area of 99.975 hectares that is divided into four core parts: the Nine-Bend Stream Ecological Protection Area (36,400 ha) in the center, flanked by the Wuyishan National Nature Reserve (56,527 ha) to the west and the Wuyishan National Scenic Area (7,000 ha) to the east. The fourth part, the Protection Area for the Remains of Ancient Han Dynasty (48 ha) is located in a separate area about 15km to the south-east of the other lcoations. The core parts are surrounded by an additional buffer zone of 27,888 ha.
Best travel time: summer, although it's very hot then but everything is exuberant.
3. The golden lake (Fujian)
The golden lake is located in Taining County in the northwest of Fujian province. A man-made lake sits at the upper reach and is about 60 kilometers long, and has a capacity of 8.7 hundred million cubic meters. The Golden Lake is surrounded by mountains and verdant forest. Stone bamboo shoots stand tall with springs flowing through them. There are more than 1,000 historic sites, such as the Baishuiji waterfall, Canglu Temple, the lover's peak, great Chibi, above the water, the five-kilometer-long calm lake, to name a few. These features make up the unique scenic spot. The Golden Lake is also regarded as "Lake of Gold" by tourists at home and abroad.
4. Mount Longhu (Jiangxi)
Mount Longhu is located in Jiangxi province. It is famous for being one of the birthplaces of Taoism, as many Taoist temples were originally built upon the mountainside. It is particularly important to the Zhengyi Dao as the Shangqing Temple and the Mansion of the Taoist Master are located here. It is known as one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism.
Two of the temples are of Immortal City and Zheng Yi, all founded by Zhang Daoling, the Han Dynasty founder of the religion. There are more Taoist temples in nearby Shangqing. One of the temples in Shangqing is mentioned in the beginning of the famous Chinese novel "Outlaws of the Marsh." Mount Longhu also carries great cultural significance as it is a historical burial site of the Guyue people, who placed their dead in hanging coffins on the mountain cliffs.
In August 2010 UNESCO inscribed Mount Longhu on the World Heritage List as part of the six sites that make up the China Danxia landforms.
Best travel time: all year around
5. Langshan Mountain (Hunan)
Langshan Mountain is one of China's National Geological Parks famous for its unique Danxia landform and literally means "Crimson Glow." It is a rare topographic feature in world geography. Huge rocks of dark red color with grotesque shapes give tourists a marvelous sight. It is located in Xinning County, about 500 km away from Changsha, capital of Hunan province. In the south, Langshan Mountain is connected with Guilin, and in the north it echoes Zhangjiajie. Covering an area of 108 square kilometers, Langshan Mountain is filled with a rich natural scenery and abundant tourism resources. There are more than 500 scenic spots in Langshan Mountain. Among which the most famous are Tianyi Lane, Chili Peak, Zixia Cave, Fuyi River, Innate Bridge, Octagonal Castle, Emperor Xun Forest Park and the Xicun Ancient Dwelling.
In 2008, Langshan Mountain was nominated as a World Nature Heritage. In august, 2009, some experts from the World Nature Heritage visited the site for inspection, and the mountain is expected to become a World Nature Heritage site next July. If this happens, it will be the second World Nature Heritage in Hunan after Wulingyuan in Zhangjiajie. The name of Langshan comes from an ancient legend. It is said that when Shun, a legendary monarch in ancient China, passed by the mountain, he felt the mountains and rivers here were so wonderful, so he entitled the mountain with a Chinese character - Lang, meaning "good mountains."
Langshan Danxia landform and the evolution of its climate and features are representatives of Earth's historical evolution in Southeast Asia since the Cretaceous, and also represents the crust evolution process and the ancient environmental change of southeast China over 100 million years. It is considered to be an excellent example of the main stage of geo-evolution history.
Best travel time: all year around
6. Zhangye (Gansu)
Zhangye Danxia is located in the middle of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province's Zhangye city. Zhangye Danxia landforms cover one hundred square mountain hills, with unique shapes and colors.
Zhangye Danxia landforms offer a wide and magnificent scene, peculiar shapes, bright colors, and is the most typical arid region in China and the largest area of Danxia landscape. It has a very high scientific and tourism value. Zhangye Danxia landform mainly covers the territory of Linze, Sunan County with an area of 300 square kilometers. Hierarchical areas are scattered and feature steep rock walls and rich, color classes and colorful screen tower gorges and lakes,
Best travel time: June-September
7. Chishui (Guizhou)
The Chishui Danxia inherited from the synergy of the strong and intermittent Cenozoic uplifts of the Himalayan Orogeny and the heat-moisture matched Asian Monsoon, and it has not been damaged from the scouting process of the last glaciations.
Chishui Danxia demonstrates the richness of the Danxia landform diversity. Positive and negative Danxia landforms are not only of high value in explaining Danxia landform evolution, but also show high aesthetic significance.
The Chishui Danxia is big and has tall forests where ancient vegetation and modern vegetation stemming from many species co-exist, revealing an important and on-going process of biology and ecology. Chishui Danxia has a high-level of biodiversity and provides refuge and habitats for many rare and endangered species.
Best travel time: all year around
