Danxia landform near Lanzhou


The Danxia landform refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that “consist of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs”. It is a unique type of petrographic geomorphology found in China. Danxia landform is formed from red-coloured sandstones and conglomerates of largely Cretaceous age. The landforms look very much like karst topography that forms in areas underlain by limestones, but since the rocks that form danxia are sandstones and conglomerates, they have been called “pseudo-karst” landforms.

Probably the most famous (and colourful) is Zhangye Danxia in Gansu region. But there is also one quite near Lanzhou in China, actually, near the airport… its kinda hidden…