Zhangye Danxia's rounded hills are crossed by tilted bands of red, orange, yellow and green rock. Toggle the golden-hour lighting to see how the colors deepen at low sun angles, and the viewing boardwalk markers that protect the fragile rock surface.
Published figures: the Zhangye Danxia Geopark covers roughly 300 sq km at elevations around 2,000-3,800 m; the colored layers built up over about 24 million years before tectonic uplift and erosion exposed them.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Zhangye Danxia 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows Zhangye Danxia as a set of rounded hills near the Qilian Mountains in Gansu, China, crossed by tilted bands of red, orange, yellow and green rock. Toggle golden-hour lighting to see the colors deepen the way they do near sunrise and sunset, and the marker showing the elevated wooden boardwalks built to protect the fragile rock surface.
Zhangye Danxia is a Danxia ("rosy cloud") landform - red sandstone and siltstone layers deposited over roughly 24 million years, then tectonically uplifted and eroded into rounded ridges and canyons. The colors come from different mineral content and oxidation states in the layers: iron oxide produces red and orange bands, while other minerals produce yellow, green, and grey-purple bands. Because the stripes follow the original tilted sedimentary layers rather than the modern hillside outline, they cut across the rounded terrain at an angle instead of wrapping around it. The geopark covers roughly 300 sq km across two main scenic areas, the narrower Binggou Danxia and the rounded Colorful Hills (Qicai Danxia), at elevations of roughly 2,000 to 3,800 m, and forms part of the "China Danxia" UNESCO World Heritage Site, a joint listing of six Danxia landform areas inscribed in 2010.
- Toggle golden-hour lighting to see the stripes turn warmer and more saturated, the way they read near sunrise, sunset, or right after rain
- Toggle the viewing boardwalk markers to see the elevated wooden walkways built to protect the fragile rock surface from foot traffic
- Read location, landform age, color chemistry, and heritage figures in the panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Location | Zhangye, Gansu Province, China, in the foothills of the Qilian Mountains |
| Landform | Danxia ("rosy cloud") - tilted red sandstone and siltstone layers exposed by erosion |
| Layer age | deposited over roughly 24 million years, then tectonically uplifted |
| Colors | from mineral content and oxidation state - iron oxide gives red and orange; other minerals give yellow, green, and purple-grey |
| Park area | roughly 300 sq km across two main scenic areas, at elevations around 2,000-3,800 m |
| Heritage status | part of the "China Danxia" UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed 2010 |
| Best viewing | near sunrise and sunset, and often more vivid right after rain |
For another striped-rock landscape, open the Antelope Canyon 3D Explorer, or for another rounded desert monolith try the Uluru 3D Explorer.
The whole scene - the rounded hills, the tilted color stripes, the golden-hour lighting toggle, and the boardwalk markers - is built and drawn on your own device with WebGL through the site-vendored three.js engine. Orbit the scene to trace how the stripes cut across the hill shapes at an angle, and toggle golden-hour light to see the colors deepen. Nothing about your visit is uploaded to a server, and the engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is then cached.
This is an educational approximation - the hill shapes, stripe placement, lighting toggle, and boardwalk markers are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Zhangye Danxia?
In Gansu Province, China, in the foothills of the Qilian Mountains. The geopark covers roughly 300 sq km across two main scenic areas at elevations around 2,000-3,800 m.
Why are the hills so colorful?
The rock layers contain different minerals and oxidation states - iron oxide produces red and orange bands, while other minerals produce yellow, green, and grey-purple bands, deposited over roughly 24 million years.
Why do the stripes cut across the hills at an angle?
Because the colored bands follow the original tilted sedimentary layers, not the modern hillside shape. Tectonic uplift tilted the layers after they formed, so the stripes run diagonally across today's rounded terrain.
Is Zhangye Danxia a UNESCO site?
Yes. It is part of the "China Danxia" UNESCO World Heritage Site, a joint listing of six Danxia landform areas in China, inscribed in 2010.
When are the colors most vivid?
Near sunrise and sunset, when low sun angles deepen the tones, and often right after rain when the wet rock surface increases color saturation.
What are the wooden walkways in the park for?
Elevated boardwalks and viewing platforms let visitors see the formations up close while protecting the fragile rock surface from foot-traffic erosion.
Is this a scientific terrain model?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the hill shapes, stripe placement, lighting toggle, and boardwalk markers are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.