China's Rainbow Mountains at Zhangye Danxia: Where They Are, Tickets, Sunset and How to Visit

China’s “Rainbow Mountains” are the striped hills of the Zhangye Qicai Danxia scenic area in Gansu, north-west China, about 40 km from Zhangye city. Bands of red, orange, yellow and pale grey sandstone fold across low ridges, and you see them from boardwalks and viewing platforms linked by the park’s shuttle buses. Go in the afternoon and stay for sunset, which in summer comes after 20:30 Beijing time. Half a day covers the main platforms; give Zhangye one or two nights on a Silk Road trip west to Jiayuguan and Dunhuang.

Where are the Rainbow Mountains?

The scenic area lies in Linze and Sunan counties at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains, 40 km from downtown Zhangye and 20 km from Linze town. It covers 50 km², of which about 4 km² is open to visitors, and it is a national 5A scenic area. It sits inside the Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark, approved in July 2020, which covers 1,289.71 km² of colourful hills and window-lattice “palatial” Danxia formations.

Is it a World Heritage site?

No, although many websites say so. UNESCO’s “China Danxia” World Heritage site, inscribed in 2010, is made up of six areas in sub-tropical southern China: Chishui, Taining, Langshan, Danxiashan, Longhushan and Jianglangshan. Zhangye is not one of them. Its UNESCO title is Global Geopark, a different programme. And Peru’s Rainbow Mountain, Vinicunca, is a different place altogether.

What you see: the viewing platforms

The scenic area lists seven viewpoints: Qicai Yunhai, Qicai Xianyuan, Qicai Jinxiu, Qicai Hongxia, Wohu Gorge, Qicai Ao River and the Wanxiang Earth Forest Valley. A standard ticket covers the four regular platforms, numbered 1 to 4, and the shuttle buses between them; No. 4, Hongxia, is the busiest at sunset. The Ao River and Earth Forest Valley viewpoints are in the core protected area, reached on the separate deep tour.

How much are the tickets?

• Standard ticket, RMB 93: entry plus the shuttle bus that links platforms 1–4. You queue for the buses and get on and off at fixed stops. Allow about 3 hours.
• Deep tour, about RMB 328–368: a dedicated vehicle and guide into the core area, including the Ao River and Earth Forest Valley viewpoints, limited to 2,000 people a day. Allow 3–4 hours.
• Bingou Danxia is a separate scenic area with its own ticket.

These prices come from a June 2026 Sina Travel report, not an official price notice, and booking platforms show different figures. Check the price and what it includes in the official ticket channel before you pay.

When to go, and sunset times

The colours look strongest in low, slanting light, so arrive in the afternoon and stay until the sun goes down. Zhangye is far west of Beijing but runs on Beijing time, so sunset is much later than many visitors expect, and plans that assume a 6 pm sunset in summer miss it.

Summer is the main season and it is busy: the scenic area received 3.49 million visits in 2024, with a record of more than 47,800 in one day, so expect queues for the shuttle buses in July and August. Spring and autumn are quieter. Many online photos are colour-boosted; in person the bands are clear but softer, and they glow most in the last hour of light.

Stay on the boardwalks

Walking on the striped slopes is not allowed. In August 2018, visitors who got into a closed section and filmed themselves trampling it were investigated by police, and a geopark worker, citing a geologist, said one footprint takes nearly 60 years to recover. Keep to the boardwalks and platforms.

Getting there

Fly into Zhangye Ganzhou Airport or arrive by high-speed train at Zhangye West, then go about 40 km by road to the scenic area, roughly an hour by car. Most visitors use a taxi, a hired car or a tour; check the return before you go, because sunset ends late and the area is outside town.

How long to stay, and how it fits a Silk Road trip

• Half a day: the standard platforms from mid-afternoon to sunset.
• One full day in Zhangye: add Giant Buddha Temple in the city in the morning.
• Two days: add Bingou Danxia or the Pingshanhu Grand Canyon.
• Onward: Zhangye sits on the Hexi Corridor between Lanzhou and Jiayuguan, so it works best as the first stop of a westbound route to Jiayuguan Fort and the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang.