There are several mountains in the world which are known as “Rainbow mountains” because of their multi-coloured hue. The best known is probably the ones in Peru. Nice indeed, but my experience was marred by hordes of tourists and commercialism. The photos you see in social media are often ridiculously filtered.
When I was planning my trip to western China “Hexi Corridor” in Gansu Province as part of my Silk Road trip in May 2027, I realised I’d be close to the Danxia region in Zhangye. The mountains looked nice, although in some pics, they were also heavily filtered like the ones in Peru. The range was much larger than Peru.
Danxia means Red. Surprisingly it was little known even in China before a hit Chinese movie “A simple noodle story” was shot here. Afterwards it became more and more popular with local tourists, but hardly at all with foreign tourists. Hollywood used the landscape for “The Great Wall” and the live action “Mulan”. The popularity was such that during peak summer holidays daily number of tourists reached fifty thousand!
Just like any other popular tourist spots in China it started to look artificial with people queuing up for balloon rides on balloons shaped like that most annoying cat with waving paw.
Thankfully Chinese government took notice, balloon rides were stopped, boardwalks built, drones prohibited and tourists are threatened with fine and imprisonment if they step off the boardwalk. Several hotels have sprung up, including one called Danxia Pearl hotel which is right at the gate. Nice hotel but practically no one spoke English. My skill with Chopsticks was getting better but I still thought about asking Dao Cha
(Fork/spoon) at the restaurant. The waiter gave me the look of a Chinese Mandarin aristocrat looking at a barbarian Mongol invader and shook her head. I battled with my chopsticks.
Photography is my passion and light is the most important thing. I learnt that early morning was the best time, even better after a little rain and the colours start looking washed out as the sun gets brighter. Also, some hills face east and some face west, so sunrays will hit different hills at different times.
Guess what, we arrived at Zhangye in the middle of a sandstorm with the sand from Gobi covering the sky with little sunshine coming through and thick haze. I had only one full day here, so my heart sank. On the morning, I got ready dutifully at six am, only to see a dull sunrise. No point going out, so I took my vengeance on the dumplings at breakfast table. My wife even told me, “If you eat any more dumplings, you’d start looking like a dumpling.”
Then I realised Yr.No my trusted weather app, is showing a little bit of peeping sun from 10 am. Not a bright clear sky, but definitely intermittently sunny. My hopes went up, ran to find my guide Spring and jumped on the car. Spring pointed out that in my excitement I had left my Nikon at the hotel!
China is super-efficient in mass mobilisation. It truly runs like a clockwork. After buying tickets, you must ride on a bus, which will take you to four different points where you are allowed to roam within the designated areas and on the boardwalk. At every point you must get down and take another bus. It takes about ten minutes to reach the first point.
I recommend not spending too much time on the first two points and focus on the third and the final point. From the third point you can see the hills close and from the fourth point you can see the huge vista and a Red Cliff.
It was not that crowded. We were in the off season. But there were still plenty of ladies hogging the most scenic spots, posing with that annoying Red Scarf! I shudder to think what would happen on a public holiday. There were some eating options but better to return to Zhangye and eat there.
My photos did not come out to my complete satisfaction. Trust me it was truly spectacular when seen with naked eyes. The sky was grey and the haze from the sandstorm was still very much there. Only saving grace was that it had rained a little bit the night before so the colours were better. I had to use the "haze removal" in processing.
After seeing the Rainbow mountains, in the afternoon we also went to another nearby area called “Bingou Danxia” which is like the Monument valley. For the first time in China, I found peace and solitude with absolutely no one within earshot. The colour was purely red here. Wind and rain had carved the hills into interesting shapes. If you have time then I strongly recommend visiting this place after the Rainbow Mountains.
Zhangye is a must stop on the Hexi corridor. My travels were arranged by my super-efficient agent Leah from Silk Roads tour, who absolutely deserves a mention. A good travel agent is priceless, especially in less visited places like north west China.