Things to do in Zhangye

To be honest, no camera can capture its beauty. The vibrant colors, layer upon layer, the sheer scale and the raw, unique beauty—it's unparalleled and can only be truly appreciated in person. The景区 staff provided excellent service; the arrangements for each attraction and the shuttle bus were very efficient. My wife and I drove from Dongguan to Inner Mongolia, passing by the Xi'an City Wall, the Ejina Populus euphratica Forest, and Jiuzhaigou, and we felt that the Rainbow Mountains offered the best value for money. This kind of scenic area deserves to be recommended to the world!

People from Guangxi are already a bit oxygen-deprived at that high altitude, and the dramatic elevation changes and the seemingly endless "sky ladder" almost took my life. But the scenery was truly breathtaking; scenes I'd only ever seen in geography books were now a reality.

It's a great choice for learning about the Hexi region, its religious art, history, and culture. Nearby attractions include the city museum and the Wooden Pagoda. Overall, it offers good value for money and is worth visiting.

A beautiful scenic area, combining nature and culture. It boasts ancient sites, snow-capped mountains, and grasslands, offering opportunities for hiking and panoramic views, as well as immersing oneself in the ancient architecture and grotto culture. The scenery is stunning.

Binggou Danxia is located near Qicai Danxia and has beautiful scenery. The unique rock formations resemble scenes from outer space. However, the steps leading to the site are very steep, making it unsuitable for elderly visitors.

I recommend driving there; it's a thousand-year-old pastoral idyll nestled at the foot of the Qilian Mountains. The Royal Horse Ranch, founded by Huo Qubing, is said to be the world's largest and oldest military horse ranch. Even after an hour's drive, we still couldn't reach the edge. Now, snow-capped mountains, rapeseed flowers, and herds of horses are all framed together. The most moving sight is the horses scattered across the grasslands, some grazing with their heads down, others galloping with their manes flying, completely relaxed and at ease.

On the third day of the National Day trip, the journey from Zhangye to Jiuquan was long, so we arranged to go to the snow mountain first. It is indeed not famous, but the scenery is nice, and you may see marmots, but we didn’t see any. It was cold and windy, so you needed to wear a thin down jacket and gloves. There were plank roads all the way, but the altitude was 3900-4000m. This was the day with the fewest steps on the trip. We walked more than 8,000 meters and had not yet reached the end. I flew a drone, and it may not have been halfway, but I still felt very tired. It took 2 hours, plus the round trip bus ride was about 3 hours. There were not many people in the scenic area, so there was no need to queue.

What's confusing about this scenic area is that the navigation leads to the visitor center on the map, but after asking a staff member, I learned that I had to go up to the second floor to exchange for tickets, get a navigation address and a pass, and then drive more than ten kilometers to actually reach the scenic area. Make sure you don't lose your pass; you'll need to check it before entering. Also, it might be inconvenient if you're not driving. During the summer, which is probably peak season, I didn't see any buses for individual tourists; it was all private cars. The scenery inside the scenic area is definitely worth seeing, and the fact that drones can fly is a great feature 👍

Qilian Mountains in Gansu attracts tourists with its magnificent natural scenery and rich cultural heritage. Qilian Mountain Ski Resort has become a popular attraction where tourists can experience skiing, snowmobiling and other activities. In addition, a herd of white-lipped deer, a national first-class protected animal, was discovered in the Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve, and the ecological protection results were remarkable. It is worth a visit. The Qilian Mountain Grassland is known as one of the six most beautiful grasslands in China 🤟

Yanzhi Mountain is rich in water and grass, and has been a natural and excellent pasture since ancient times. It is the main water source conservation forest. The Yanzhi Mountain Forest Park is built in the mountain forest farm. Yanzhi Mountain has a dangerous terrain and protruding peaks. It is an important military location in ancient and modern times. It has been known as the "Ganliang Throat" since ancient times.