The vistas of rolling rock hills striped with red, orange, black and brown are often compared to a painter's palette. In the magical hands of the painter, the vast barren land showed an unstoppable vigor of life. [Photo:travel.sina.com.cn]

As one of the key stops on the Silk Road, the ancient commercial passage linking China to the Middle East, Zhangye City in Gansu Province, were routinely seen as a place full of historic charm. Recently, it was featured in well-known director Zhang Yimou's latest film, "A Simple Noodle Story."

Its spectacular landscapes created a natural backdrop for the film and helped tourists realize that aside from its Buddhas and deserts, Zhangye has much more to offer.

The vistas of rolling rock hills striped with red, orange, black and brown are often compared to a painter's palette. In the magical hands of the painter, the vast barren land showed an unstoppable vigor of life. According to scientists, this kind of landform is called Danxia and is a result of crystal movement and years of weathering. The landscape in Zhangye began to take shape 2 million years ago during the Jurassic period, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.

Zhangye was nominated as one of the seven most magnificent Danxia landscapes in China by Chinese National Geography as early as 2005.

Danxia stretching more than 300 kilometers were discovered within the borders of Linze and Sunan, two counties in Zhangye. It is the best-preserved and largest Danxia landscape in China.

How to get there

Visitors can first get to Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province, by air, and take a bus or a train to Zhangye. There are many tourist buses to the scenic areas.