Zhangye Colorful Hills

The color bands of Zhangye’s hills come from sandstone, siltstone and mudstone deposited in different periods. Tectonic forces tilted the layers, then weathering and erosion exposed them. Shuttle buses connect several viewing platforms, where angled stripes spread into a rolling panorama. Light, cloud and rain change the colors, so photographs cannot promise the same saturation at every moment. Zhangye Colorful Hills entered UNESCO’s Tentative List in 2025; it is not yet an inscribed World Heritage property.