YZY
Zhangye (Gansu)
The rainbow hills are colorful hills, not the Danxia on the World Heritage list — and they look their best after rain, at 5pm, not at noon. Come by high-speed rail; the airport has very few flights.
Zhangye is the Silk Road city in Gansu behind the rainbow-striped hills everyone photographs — and those hills are technically colorful hills, not the Danxia sites inscribed as a World Natural Heritage site. This guide covers when the colours actually look strong (after rain, late afternoon, not at noon), why the ¥108 ticket gets you different viewpoints depending on whether you use the north or the west gate, how to get from Zhangye West high-speed rail station to the park 40 km away, what else is here besides the hills — the Great Buddha Temple's 35 m reclining clay Buddha, the Mati Temple grottoes, Binggou Danxia — and how to pay and stay online out on the Hexi Corridor.
Getting around (no metro)
Zhangye has no metro. In town, taxis and buses are fine — Zhangye West high-speed rail station is about 20 minutes by taxi from the centre. The Colorful Hills are roughly 40 km away in Nijiaying, Linze County, on the border with Sunan Yugur Autonomous County: a hired car is ¥150–200 one way, or join a day tour, about an hour each way. Inside the park you must use the shuttle bus to move between the viewing platforms; the ridges are kilometres apart and walking between them is not an option. Binggou Danxia sits about 12 km from the Colorful Hills, so put it on the same day as the west gate.
Nearest hub — rail beats the airport
Zhangye West station on the Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed line is the reliable answer: about 2 hrs 40 from Lanzhou West, roughly 3 hrs from Xining, and shorter from Jiuquan or Jiayuguan. Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is a 4C military-civil airport 24 km north-west of the centre at 1,588.5 m, with a small handful of routes; it also suspended all flights for runway works from 30 March 2025 and only resumed on 16 May 2025. Check flights for your dates rather than assuming. G30 Lianyungang–Khorgos expressway and the conventional Lanxin railway also pass through. Most travellers come overland as part of a Hexi Corridor run: Lanzhou – Zhangye – Jiayuguan – Dunhuang.
Population and why the city is here
Zhangye had 1,099,900 permanent residents at the end of 2024, spread over 38,600 km² of one district and five counties, with 38 ethnic groups; Sunan is China's only Yugur autonomous county. The Western Han named the place from the phrase 'to extend the arm of the country through to the Western Realm' — 张国臂掖，以通西域 — and it was known as Ganzhou, a garrison and trading chokepoint on the Silk Road. Locals still call it 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall' and 'Golden Zhangye' for the oasis the Heihe River feeds out of the Qilian Mountains. It is a national historic and cultural city, not just a jumping-off point for a photo.
Best season — and the light, not just the month
June to September is the standard answer: 20–30°C, dry, and the bands read most saturated in clear weather. But the hour matters more than the month. After rain has passed and the sun comes back, the reds and yellows deepen; at noon the overhead light flattens them into pale grey. The hour before sunset is the golden window, and in winter the park opens later and closes around 17:00 (last entry 17:00), while the summer season can run roughly 06:30–20:00 — always check the day's posted hours. April, May and October are less crowded with softer light; winter is cold and windy but snow on striped hills is a real, very quiet sight. Avoid the first three days of national holidays.
Must-see — there is more than the hills
The Colorful Hills are a 5A scenic area inside Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark: layered red-bed hills striped red, yellow, white and grey. North gate (Linze) platforms include Qicai Xianyuan, Qicai Yunhai (the widest panorama), Qicai Jinxiu and Qicai Hongxia; the west gate (Sunan) side has Qicai Aohe, which faces the western ridge and is the better sunset spot. Binggou Danxia, ~12 km away, is different: wind-eroded red sandstone in castle and palace shapes, much quieter. In town, the Great Buddha Temple is a Western Xia imperial monastery holding China's largest indoor clay reclining Buddha, about 35 m long. Mati Temple grottoes are contemporary with Mogao; Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon, Shandan Horse Farm (Asia's largest army horse farm), the Heihe wetlands and the Qiyi glacier round out a longer stay.
Tickets — one ticket, two different gate routes
The Colorful Hills adult ticket including the mandatory shuttle bus and park insurance is about ¥108 (students and 60–69 ~¥73, 70+ ~¥38); Binggou Danxia is about ¥60 with its electric cart. The park has a north gate (Linze) and a west gate (Sunan); the ticket is shared but each gate runs its own shuttle loop to its own platforms, so don't assume one ¥108 ticket lets you tick off every platform in a single afternoon — that is the most common disappointment here. Hot-air balloon tethered rides, the 'Alalagda' night show and VIP platform packages all cost extra. Winter hours can be as short as 08:30–17:00 with last entry at 17:00; summer runs much longer. Prices and hours change by season — confirm at the gate or on the official site.
Altitude, weather and what it does to you
Zhangye sits on the Hexi Corridor at roughly 1,500 m; the airport is 1,588.5 m, officially a high-altitude airport. That is not enough for altitude sickness — nobody comes here with a headache from the height. What gets you is the dry air, the wind and the sun: strong UV, big day-night temperature swings, and in November daytime around 4–11°C with nights below freezing. Bring a windproof layer even in summer for a sunset platform, sunglasses, sunscreen and lip balm, and drink more water than you think you need. The park is open desert ridge with almost no shade, and the shuttle queues at the sunset platform are fully exposed.
Food and where to sleep
Stay in town, not at the park gate: business hotels run ¥200–350, there is a proper night market on Mingqing Street, and you are close to the station. Guesthouses near the scenic area are few, pricier and only worth it if you are chasing sunrise. Zhangye food is wheat-and-lamb country: cuo yu mian (short hand-rubbed noodle 'fish'), chao pao (thick stir-fried noodles), juan zi ji (chicken with rolled dough), niu rou xiao fan (diced beef over rice), plus sao noodles and apricot-peel tea. A filling meal is around ¥40 a head. Ask the price before ordering at a stall near the park, and don't expect an English menu anywhere outside the bigger hotels.
Suggested itinerary
Arrive at Zhangye West, see the old city
The Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed line drops you at Zhangye West, about 20 minutes by taxi from the centre. Check into a town hotel, then walk to the Great Buddha Temple — a Western Xia imperial monastery with China's largest indoor clay reclining Buddha, roughly 35 m long, and far quieter than the hills. Evening on Mingqing Street: cuo yu mian or chao pao, around ¥40 a head. Sort out tomorrow's transport tonight: a hired car to the Colorful Hills is ¥150–200 one way, and a day tour is the cheaper option if you're on your own.
North gate, and arrive in the afternoon on purpose
Don't be there at opening. Overhead noon light flattens the stripes into pale grey; the colour comes back in late afternoon. Enter the north gate (Linze) around 16:00 and let the shuttle run its loop: Qicai Xianyuan, Qicai Yunhai — the widest panorama, where you can see whole bands of ridge at once — Qicai Jinxiu and Qicai Hongxia, which has the longest boardwalk and the best-known angles. Stay on the paths; this is a fragile, non-renewable geological relic and the park says so repeatedly. Back to town for dinner rather than eating at the gate.
Binggou in the morning, sunset from the west gate
Binggou Danxia is about 12 km from the Colorful Hills and looks nothing like them: red sandstone wind-eroded into palaces, castles and pillars, with a couple of hours of boardwalk and far fewer people. The Xiaoxitian grotto and the 'Louvre' viewpoint are the names to look for; entry with the electric cart is around ¥60. After lunch, come back through the west gate (Sunan) of the Colorful Hills. Its Qicai Aohe platform faces the western ridge, and the hour before sunset turns the whole slope gold-red — better, honestly, than the north side at the same hour. Check the last shuttle time before you settle in.
Mati Temple grottoes and the Yugur county
Head south into Sunan Yugur Autonomous County for the Mati Temple grottoes, cut into cliffs at roughly the same period as Dunhuang's Mogao caves, with Qilian mountain grassland right outside. Sunan is China's only Yugur autonomous county, and the drive is part of the day — allow the whole of it rather than trying to squeeze in a second long-distance sight. If you'd rather stay closer, Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon is the alternative; pick one, not both. Either way, carry water and a windproof layer: there is little shade and the weather turns quickly at this altitude.
Shandan Horse Farm or a slow city day
Shandan Horse Farm, Asia's largest army horse farm, is a long day out on grassland under the Qilian Mountains — go if horses and open country are your thing, and accept the driving. The cheaper, quieter option is to stay in town: the Heihe wetlands and the 'half city of reeds' that earned Zhangye its 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall' nickname, the Han and Ming Great Wall remains, and another bowl of niu rou xiao fan. A slow day also gives you a weather buffer — if the hills were hazy on day two, this is the day to go back after any rain, when the bands are at their most saturated.
Hexi Corridor logistics, or one more sunset
Most people do Zhangye as a stop on the Lanzhou – Jiayuguan – Dunhuang run, so use this day to book the next leg and confirm the train from Zhangye West; a flight out of YZY has very few routes and has had runway-works closures, so don't build a tight connection around it. If the weather gave you a flat, pale hills day, go back for one more late-afternoon attempt — the ¥108 ticket's validity and the gate rules are worth checking before you pay twice. Otherwise sleep in, revisit the Great Buddha Temple in the morning light, and leave the evening unplanned.
One last bowl, then the train
Breakfast is niu rou xiao fan or sao noodles, and pick up some apricot-peel tea for the train. Then Zhangye West for Lanzhou, Xining, Jiayuguan or Dunhuang. Two things worth remembering on the way out: these hills are a UNESCO Global Geopark and a 5A scenic area, but they are not part of the 'China Danxia' World Natural Heritage inscription — a distinction you'll hear argued about a lot and see mislabelled in plenty of photo captions. And the stripes are someone's geology, not a backdrop: stay on the boardwalks, don't step onto the ridges for an angle, and skip the drone — the core zone restricts it.
Local tips
- Best time to visit Zhangye: June–September for dry 20–30°C days and the most saturated bands, but the hour matters more than the month — after rain has cleared the colours deepen, noon overhead light washes them pale grey, and the hour before sunset is the golden window. April, May and October are quieter with softer light. Winter is cold and windy with snow on the striped hills and very few visitors; hours can be as short as 08:30–17:00 with last entry at 17:00, while summer can run ~06:30–20:00. Always check posted hours.
- Come by high-speed rail: Zhangye West on the Lanzhou–Xinjiang line is ~2h40 from Lanzhou West, ~3 hrs from Xining, less from Jiuquan / Jiayuguan, and ~20 minutes by taxi from the centre. Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY) is 24 km out at 1,588.5 m with only a handful of routes — it also closed for runway works from 30 March to 16 May 2025 — so check flights for your dates instead of assuming.
- No metro. The Colorful Hills are ~40 km from town in Linze County on the Sunan border: a hired car is ¥150–200 one way, or join a day tour, about an hour each way. Inside the park the shuttle bus is mandatory — the platforms are kilometres apart. Binggou Danxia is ~12 km away; pair it with the west gate on the same day to avoid doubling back.
- One ¥108 ticket does not mean every viewpoint in one afternoon. The adult Colorful Hills ticket (shuttle + insurance included; students / 60–69 ~¥73, 70+ ~¥38) is shared between the north gate (Linze) and west gate (Sunan), but each gate runs its own shuttle loop to its own platforms. North: Qicai Xianyuan, Qicai Yunhai, Qicai Jinxiu, Qicai Hongxia. West: Qicai Aohe, the best sunset spot. Binggou Danxia is a separate ~¥60 with electric cart. Balloon rides, the night show and VIP packages cost extra.
- There is more here than the hills: the Great Buddha Temple in town is a Western Xia imperial monastery with China's largest indoor clay reclining Buddha (~35 m); Mati Temple grottoes are contemporary with Mogao; Pingshan Lake Grand Canyon, Shandan Horse Farm, the Heihe wetlands and Han–Ming Great Wall remains all take extra days. Also, these colorful hills are a UNESCO Global Geopark and 5A scenic area, NOT part of the 'China Danxia' World Natural Heritage inscription — a distinction often mislabelled.
- Paying like a local: link a foreign Visa / Mastercard / JCB to Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive — download the app, add the card, expect a passport-photo verification, then test it on a small purchase. It covers tickets, the hired car, hotels and most restaurants. But the park-area snack stalls and a rural noodle shop may fail on a QR code, so carry ¥100–200 in small cash, and ask the price before ordering near the gate.
- Staying online: buy a tourist SIM with your passport at a China Mobile / Telecom / Unicom shop in Lanzhou, Xining or Zhangye city, or set up an eSIM before you fly (check your phone supports it). Google, WhatsApp and Instagram need your own VPN, which is a grey area in China — arrange it in advance. Download Amap or Baidu Maps offline; signal is patchy on the road out to Linze and on the open ridges.
- Altitude is ~1,500 m (the airport 1,588.5 m) — no altitude sickness, but strong UV, dry air, wind and a big day-night swing; in November expect 4–11°C days and freezing nights. Bring a windproof layer even in summer for a sunset platform, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm and more water than you think. Stay in town (¥200–350) rather than at the park gate; eat cuo yu mian, chao pao, juan zi ji and niu rou xiao fan (~¥40 a head). Stay on the boardwalks — the ridges are fragile, non-renewable geology — and check drone rules before packing one.
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