Zhang Ye

Zhangye's Danxia Geopark looks less like a real place than a heavily processed photograph — striated cliffs of red, orange, yellow, and violet sandstone, laid down in mineral bands over 24 million years and pushed into folded ridges by tectonic movement, create a landscape that genuinely looks painted rather than eroded. The main Rainbow Mountains viewing platforms get the crowds, but Bingou Danxia, a quieter and more rugged formation a short drive away, offers narrow canyon trails through the same red sandstone without a single fixed viewing point funneling everyone to the same photo spot.

Zhangye's other major site sits inside the city itself: Dafo Temple houses a 34.5-meter reclining Buddha, built around 1100 during the Western Xia dynasty and reputedly the largest reclining clay Buddha statue in China. Marco Polo is said to have passed through Zhangye on his way along the Silk Road in the 13th century and reportedly spent close to a year in the area — a detail that places the city firmly on the same trade route as Dunhuang and Jiayuguan, its better-known Gansu neighbors.

The Danxia formations photograph most dramatically in the harsh midday sun, when the mineral color bands show the strongest contrast, which runs against the usual golden-hour travel advice — sunrise and sunset here actually flatten the colors rather than enhancing them. June through September is the main visiting season, both for weather and because the park's shuttle-bus system (private cars aren't allowed inside) runs a fuller schedule during peak months.