Zhangye Danxia Geopark (10-20)

Friday morning I departed for my military training journey. The first stage was a 29-hour train trip from Chengdu to Zhangye. I had a hard sleeper. Hard sleeper cars have 11 compartments with 6 beds each. Fortunately, I had a bottom bed. I can’t imagine being on the top one. The bed isn’t actually hard, as it has a 3” mattress on it and is quite comfortable, especially since I am used to hard beds. Across from each compartment there is a small table with two fold-down chairs. I sat on these sometimes for a change. During the trip, vendors came through the cars selling various snacks, drinks, and prepared meals. I had gone prepared—Chinese style—and had instant noodles and snacks.

The route went through a lot of farm country—mostly corn. 

For a while, we went along a river. 

The landscape got drier as we went farther north and headed west in Gansu. In the dry area, there were what looked like shade shelters for the crops. I was surprised to see many Muslim women, wearing headscarves, in the fields as we approached Zhangye.

29.5 hours after leaving Chengdu I arrived in Zhangye. The man in our compartment was going on to Urumqi, another 24 hours from Zhangye. I felt sorry for him, as I was ready be off the train, but I suppose that, if I’d had a longer trip, I would have been prepared and been OK.

The total trip from my apartment to the guesthouse took 33 hours. After arriving in Zhangye, I took a taxi to the guesthouse. It was sunset time, and the lighting was lovely. I took several photos as we drove to the park, and my driver slowed down for me and pointed out a couple nice shots.

I had chosen a guesthouse near the park entrance for convenience getting to the park. Clearly they are not accustomed to having foreign guests. The man was friendly enough, but the woman didn’t seem comfortable. I had to ask them to clean the bathroom, as the bin was full of rubbish. The room was not heated, but the comforter and blanket were very warm and I slept well. Hot water didn’t get hot; so I wasn’t able to shower. Good that the weather was cool.

I was thrilled to be in this colorful, desert hill/mountain area that reminds me a little of the Painted Desert. So, after checking in, I went for a walk. I first encountered this area when Raven sent a photo shortly after I arrived in China and asked if I knew where it was. I didn’t. A few months later when I was looking on the Internet at a list of top scenic places in China, there was a photo like the one Raven had sent. Thus I learned that it is Zhangye Danxia Geopark in Gansu and knew that I had to go there. So I was excited to finally be there.

After sleeping for ten hours, I woke up Sunday morning ready to go. I was in my traveling mode and was ready to explore the park, having left any reluctance to travel back in Chengdu as I had anticipated. On the way to the park entrance, I walked through the stalls near it hoping to find some porridge for breakfast. Since it’s not the major tourist season, only one woman was serving breakfast. She sold noodle soup; so I had some. She became my local eating spot for the next couple days.

I entered the park shortly after 9:00. There are buses that take people to the four viewpoints. The first one was a good place to be for the morning sun. It features the Rainbow Mountains, named for the colorful layers. 

There are several viewpoints to walk to in that area, and I spent about an hour and a half enjoying all of them. 

Some of the viewpoints have special names such as Monks Worship Buddha and Monkeys Rush into the Sea of Fire. The signs explain the geology in four languages and have a picture showing the special view. 

I could pick them out and relate to the names easily. One sign explained that the color layers are only 10 cm deep and take 60 years to form.

The second and third viewpoints are close. I walked to the third one first, as I was entranced by the colorful hills along the road. 

Then I walked back, stopping for lunch at the top of a hill. As I was alone there, it was very peaceful.  

Next I walked up the big hill at the second viewpoint.

It was like walking up a mountain with all the stairs, which are painted red and yellow to blend in with the colors. 

From the top of the hill, you can see all around.

The fourth viewpoint looks out toward the east. 

After viewing it, I decided to take a bus to the east gate because I wanted to see the scenic area on the map that is on the road to the east gate. However, the bus didn’t stop there; so I enjoyed the ride to the east gate which goes downhill and out of the main colorful area. 

Then I took a bus back, and it stopped at the scenic area. Everyone got off and we were told that we had twenty minutes. I decided to stay with the group since I wasn’t really sure what was happening. We walked up a hill and then down the other side to where the bus was waiting for us. This area had more red color than the others. I was glad I’d made the trip.

The bus then continued all the way to the first viewpoint. Since it was then about 4:30, I decided to hang out there for sunset. It was fun to be there again and look over the expanse to see where I had been now that I was familiar with the park. 

The colors on the east side were deeper in the afternoon light than they had been in the morning. Those on the west side were dulled by the sunlight, and the sleeping Buddha could hardly be seen. So I was glad I’d been there in the morning, too. I enjoyed watching the colors deepen as the sun lowered. 

At the last viewpoint I went to, another woman was also waiting for the sun to descend below the mountain top, which it did at 5:15. We could hear a man calling people, and she called back that she was waiting for the sun to go down. It was nice to share that special moment with her. Then she told me it was time to go down to the bus. On the way down, we passed a guard walking up to bring everyone down.

With the blue sky, a few clouds, and the sunshine and being in such a beautiful place, it was a lovely day. When the sun went behind the mountain, I was glad I’d dressed in layers. I’d taken the jacket off at 10:00, but I was certainly glad it was in my bag at 5:30. I had taken the vest off, too, when it was hot, but then the wind blew and it was cool; so I left the vest on all day, as the wind blew off and on.

On the way back to the guesthouse, I stopped to buy yogurt from my soup maker. She gave me two apples. I ate dinner at a restaurant next to the guesthouse. There was a boy who spoke a few words of English: hello and thank you. He enjoyed communicating and gave me a thumbs up a few times. Another group of people eating there gave me handfuls of peanuts.

When I had settled into my room, the woman brought a man who speaks a little English to talk to me. He told me how much the room cost. I showed him that I had prepaid and called C-trip, the booking company. Fortunately, I had used them, as their customer service is excellent and the agents speak English fluently. I showed him that I was calling the phone number on my reservation paper. He also called even though I told him not to because I was calling. I spoke to the agent and she spoke to the woman manager. In five minutes the problem was solved and the woman left us. However, the man was still on the phone. After a few minutes, he gave me his phone to talk to the woman he had connected with. She wanted more information about me. I told her the problem was solved; so I didn’t understand why she needed more information. Also that the man who called her is not the manager. After a few more discussions back and forth, she asked for my confirmation number and then talked to the man so he understood that I had prepaid. Next he gave me the phone so the woman could tell me I needed to give a 100 yuan key deposit. I explained that I had given 50, which is what I was asked to give. She explained that to him, and after 20 minutes, the problem was solved. When I asked the man, he explained that he is from a place nearby. I know he was helping his friends, but it was frustrating since the problem had been solved quickly and easily.

Monday I woke up at 6:30 to go to the park for sunrise. One of the reasons I had stayed at the hotel nearby was so I could do that easily; so I figured that I should. On the park bus I was with a tour group of Malaysians, Australians (former Malaysians or of Malaysian descent), at least one Indonesian, and a Canadian. I enjoyed talking with them and their Chinese guide. We went to the fourth viewpoint for the sunrise. I was surprised, as I had planned to go to the big hill, which is recommended for sunrise and sunset. 

But the fourth viewpoint was perfect. When we arrived, the pre-sunrise colors were deep. We watched the sun come up over the low layer of clouds. When I had been there in the afternoon on Sunday, the colors toward the west were muted. In the morning they were vibrant. 

The sunrise itself was nice, and I enjoyed watching the changing colors of the landscape. Since we were only thirty people, we could move around. I imagine that during the main tourist season the platform is one big mass of people and there is no moving.

Next I went to the second viewpoint to go up the big hill again. I wanted to see the colors toward the west, as they had been muted by the sunlight on Sunday. And I had envisioned eating breakfast at the top of the hill. When I arrived at the top, a woman ran over to me so she could take my photo for me. This happened more often at this park than it has at any other place. Usually I have to ask someone to take a photo, and they are happy to do it. But here several people asked if they could take a photo for me. After walking around and enjoying the view, I sat on the steps and ate my apple and bread. When I got to the bottom, the tour guide was there and we chatted a bit. She “complained” that some of the people in the group didn’t like the fourth viewpoint at sunrise because the colors weren’t good enough for their photos and they wanted to go back. They also didn’t like the first viewpoint, which I had loved on Sunday. When the Canadian man came down from the big hill, he commented that it would have been better in the afternoon. He couldn’t get good photos of some areas because of the morning light. I responded that you can’t have perfect light in both directions at the same time. I was glad that, although I do enjoy taking photos and taking good photos, that’s not everything. I am able to enjoy what is there even if it’s not perfect for perfect photos.

After leaving the park, I decided to have noodles at the stall again. The woman was happy to see me. I like going to the same place and becoming familiar for a short time. After checking out, I found a taxi immediately. The woman told me the cost would be 20  yuan. I checked and asked if it was 120/$20, as that’s what I had paid to go from the train station to the park and that’s about what I had read is standard for the trip, and she said 20 again. On the way, she picked up three students, and I think they, too, paid 20. When I got out, I checked the fee again, and it was 20. This was a very pleasant surprise.

On the road, we saw a number of trucks full of dried corn being taken somewhere. I’d seen corn drying—cobs and kernels—in yards, on rooftops. We saw truckloads of dried corn plants being taken somewhere for some use, I suppose.