What causes the colours of the Zhangye Danxia?

The hills are made of layers of sandstone and siltstone laid down over millions of years, coloured by different iron and mineral content. Tectonic uplift tilted and folded the layers, and wind and rain eroded them into ridges, so the bands of colour are exposed side by side.

A small ethnic group living mainly in Sunan county south of Zhangye. They are descended in part from the Ganzhou Uyghurs of the ninth to eleventh centuries and in part from Mongol groups; some speak a Turkic language and others a Mongolic one, and they practise Tibetan Buddhism.

Historic city · Scenic area · Gansu

Zhangye

张掖 (Zhāngyè)

Oasis of Ganzhou, the Giant Buddha and the Danxia hills

Zhangye is a prefecture-level city in the middle of the Hexi Corridor, the old Ganzhou that gave Gansu the first half of its name. Watered by the Hei River from the Qilian Mountains, it is one of the richest oases of the corridor, known for the Western Xia reclining Buddha of its Giant Buddha Temple and for the striped sandstone hills of the Zhangye Danxia landform.

ProvinceGansu

Key facts

Province: Gansu
Administrative level: Prefecture-level city
Area: about 38,600 km²[1]
Resident population: 1.13 million(as of 2020 census)[2]
Historical name: Ganzhou (甘州)

Overview

The Han named the commandery Zhangye, “to stretch out the arm” of the empire towards the Western Regions. The oasis grows wheat, maize — Zhangye is one of China's main producers of seed maize — and vegetables, and its wetlands along the Hei River are unusual in the desert north-west.

To the south, in the foothills of the Qilian, lie the Danxia landforms and the cave temples of Mati Temple in the Yugur autonomous county of Sunan.

Names and nicknames

甘州 (Gānzhōu)
The historical name of the prefecture, from which the “Gan” of Gansu comes.
金张掖 (jīn Zhāngyè)
“golden Zhangye”
A traditional epithet for its wealth as a grain-growing oasis.

History

Zhangye commandery was founded after the Han expelled the Xiongnu from the corridor. In 609 Emperor Yang of Sui received envoys and merchants from many states of the Western Regions at Zhangye. From the ninth century the Ganzhou Uyghur kingdom ruled the oasis, until the Western Xia took it in 1028. Marco Polo wrote that he stayed a year in the city he called Campichu. In the 1940s the New Zealander Rewi Alley ran the Bailie School for technical training at Shandan.

2nd century BCE
Han commandery of Zhangye
One of the four commanderies founded to hold the Hexi Corridor.
609
Emperor Yang of Sui at Zhangye
The emperor received envoys and merchants from the Western Regions, an event later described as a Silk Road trade fair.
c. 894–1028
Ganzhou Uyghur kingdom
Uyghurs who had left the Mongolian steppe after 840 established a kingdom in the oasis; the Yugur people trace descent from them.
1098
Giant Buddha Temple
The Western Xia built the temple with its great reclining Buddha.
1944–1953
Bailie School at Shandan
Rewi Alley's co-operative technical school moved to Shandan during the war; his ashes were scattered there.

Landmarks

Temple or shrine
Giant Buddha Temple
大佛寺 (Dàfó Sì)
Western Xia hall holding a painted clay reclining Buddha about 35 metres long, the largest indoor reclining Buddha in China.
Nature
Zhangye Danxia
张掖七彩丹霞 (Zhāngyè qīcǎi dānxiá)
Hills of banded red, orange, yellow and white sandstone, viewed from boardwalks and platforms, best in late afternoon light.
Temple or shrine
Mati Temple
马蹄寺 (Mǎtí Sì)
Cave temples cut into sandstone cliffs in Sunan county, used by Tibetan Buddhist monks.
Temple or shrine
Wooden Pagoda
木塔 (Mù Tǎ)
A nine-storey pagoda in the city centre, rebuilt in wood in the 1920s on an ancient site.

Neighbourhoods

Ganzhou
甘州区 (Gānzhōu Qū)
The central district around the drum tower and the Giant Buddha Temple.
Sunan
肃南 (Sùnán)
The Yugur autonomous county in the Qilian foothills, with grasslands and cave temples.

Food

Rolled fish noodles
搓鱼面 (cuōyú miàn)
Short noodles rolled by hand into a fish shape, stir-fried or served in broth.
Beef little rice
牛肉小饭 (niúròu xiǎofàn)
Tiny diced dough pieces in beef soup, a breakfast of the oasis.

Culture

Zhangye mixes Han, Hui, Tibetan and Yugur cultures. The Yugur, one of China's smallest minorities, speak a Turkic and a Mongolic language and practise Tibetan Buddhism; their dress, with tall red-tasselled hats, and their songs are part of the county's identity.

Getting around

Zhangye West is on the Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed line; Zhangye Ganzhou Airport has domestic flights.
The Danxia area lies west of the city in Linze county and Mati Temple to the south; both are reached by road.

Day trips

Shandan Horse Ranch
山丹军马场 (Shāndān Jūnmǎchǎng)
A vast state horse ranch on the Qilian grasslands, by tradition used for army horses since the Han.
Hei River wetlands
黑河湿地 (Hēihé Shīdì)
Reed beds and ponds on the northern edge of the city, a stopover for migrating birds.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Zhangye Municipal People's Government — Zhangye Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Zhangye — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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