Published : 2023-10-28
The Hexi Corridor, as a key transport route of the ancient Silk Road, has witnessed historic splendour and changes.
Today, it has become a travel destination that people yearn for, whether it's mysterious cultural relics or magnificent natural scenery, all can be found here.
Here are 5 must-see natural landscapes for you, covering mountains, grasslands, lakes, deserts and other magical terrains. Let's find the unique scenery of the Hexi Corridor!
Zhangye Danxia: the crown of the world's dreamy scenery
Located in the western part of China, the Hexi Corridor, which is located west of the Yellow River and between the Qilian Mountains and the Badain Jaran Desert in the northwestern part of Gansu Province, connects several cities such as Wuwei, Jinchang, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang, and Jiayuguan.
Among them, the most dazzling natural wonder is Zhangye Danxia which is definitely on the list.
Zhangye Danxia landform group is located in Linze County, Zhangye City, with an altitude of over 2,000 meters, representing China's typical Danxia landform.
The mountains, rock peaks, stone pillars, and canyons here have various formations due to millions of years of sedimentation and accumulation.
Looking around, it's like a continuous colourful duvet spreading on the earth, with seven vibrant and distinct layers.
Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring: never dry up
Apart from Zhangye Danxia, there are many other famous natural sceneries in Hexi Corridor, including the desert wonder known for "coexistence of sand and springs”, which refers to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring in the desert of Dunhuang, Gansu.
Mingsha Mountain, also known as Sand Horn Mountain in ancient times, is formed by the accumulation of flowing sand, and it's named for the sound it makes when the sand particles vibrate. From afar, sand dunes rise and fall, vast and boundless, accompanied by the sound like drum beating, it feels like being in a mysterious kingdom, magical and spectacular.
The Crescent Spring is situated at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, embraced by continuous sandy mountains, it got its name because of its crescent shape.
As early as the Han Dynasty, the Crescent Spring has been one of the eight scenes of Dunhuang. Although it is located in the flowing sand, even in the face of strong wind or sand storms, the spring water will not be buried by the flowing sand, it's astonishing to be called "the first spring in the desert that never dries up for thousands of years".
Read more: Crescent Spring for a thousand years, was there a crisis of drying up?
Yardang National Geopark: "architectural museum" created by nature
In the Hexi Corridor, Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring are globally famous for their unique geological wonders. In Yumen Pass, about 180 kilometers away from Dunhuang, the Yardang National Geopark, also known as Ghost Town, which also has a strange landform, is less known.
The Ghost Town, located on the Gobi desert northwest of Yumen Pass, is currently the largest Yardang landform cluster in the world, with rarely seen strange formations.
Yardang in Uygur language means "steep hill', referring to a kind of wind erosion landform in arid areas.
In Yardang Ghost Town, the surroundings are an endless desert of yellow sand, without a trace of green leaves and trees, with scattered hills on the flat riverbed, of various heights and shapes, some like pyramids, some like Mongolian tents, it feels like walking into a fine world architectural museum, only these "buildings" are all naturally formed. The masterpiece of nature is really admirable!
Yellow River Stone Forest: majestic desert scenery
Traveling along the Hexi Corridor, if you want to overlook the desert landscape with a combination of the Yellow River, stone forest, desert, canyons, and Gobi, the Yellow River Stone Forest in Jingtai, Gansu, must be included in your checklist.
The Yellow River Stone Forest was formed about 2.1 million years ago. Through centuries of crustal movement and weathering, the yellow rocks have been carved into various shapes of stone forest landform.
The stone pillars and stalagmites here can reach as high as 200 meters, with winding canyons, hanging cliffs, changing scenery with every step, showing thousands of different weather, breathtakingly beautiful.
With such majestic western desert scenery, the Yellow River Stone Forest has become a filming location for many films, such as "The Myth", "World Granary", and others.
Read more: 315 National Road: the most heart-stirring road
Shandan Horse Farm: a vivid highland prairie
Located in the northwestern part of China, the Hexi Corridor, while boasting many majestic yellow sand desert sceneries, also has picturesque landscape beyond the Great Wall.
At the northern foot of Qilian Mountain in the central part of the Hexi Corridor, there is a beautiful and boundless highland prairie, which is the Shandan Horse Farm.
Shandan Horse Farm stretches across Gansu and Qinghai provinces, with a total area approximately equal to to twice the size of Hong Kong. It's Asia's largest military horse farm and the most historic royal horse farm, founded by the famous general Huo Qubing during the Western Han Dynasty.
Every year in July and August, Shandan Horse Farm is green with lush grass, abundant wildflowers and picturesque, filled with yellow rape flowers everywhere.
As the breeze blows, the air is filled with the fragrance of grass and flowers, set against the rolling Qilian Mountains, from time to time. You can also see the scene of galloping horses, lively and quiet, forming a vivid pastoral painting with unique characteristics.
Read more: Why is Gansu's natural environment the most complicated?
