Rainbow Mountains in the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park are known for the geological wonder of mimicking a rainbow painted over the mountain tops. The best time to visit these mountains is June to September. Zhangye also has other attractions (Binggou Danxia Landform and sleeping giant Buddha) which are worth visiting during the same trip.
Award Booking Flights to China
I used ANA miles to book a United roundtrip business class flight from Washington to Beijing. I planned our China trip to visit Beijing, Xian, and Zhangye. We spent a few days in Beijing and then went to see Terracotta warriors in Xian.
Flight to Zhangye
Zhangye airport (YZY) has nonstop flights from Beijing, Shanghai and Xian.
Zhangye Accommodations
We stayed at Holiday Inn for 3 nights, and the hotel was spacious with free breakfast along with friendly staff members who arranged a taxi to visit all the attractions.
Rainbow Mountains, Zhangye
The drive from Zhangye city to Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park takes about 30 minutes by taxi. There are three entrances to Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park (North, West, and East) and inside the park, there are four viewing platforms. You will pay ~74 yuan for the entrance ticket & shuttle bus, which is the only way to travel from one platform to the next (I recommend doing all 4 platforms in order). One should plan to watch the sunset while visiting the Rainbow Mountains which will be very memorable.
Binggou Danxia Landform
Binggou Danxia is mainly composed of a sandstone geomorphic landscape and while it has no rainbow colors, the stone wind carvings appear in very interesting shapes. It is close to the Rainbow Mountains and both trips can be combined by one taxi ride (our hotel arranged it for a very reasonable price).
Sleeping Giant Buddha Statue, Zhangye
One should also plan to visit the Dafo (Great Buddha) Temple in Zhangye.
Summary
Zhangye Rainbow Mountains are a must-see bucket list attraction in China, and I recommend combining trips with also visiting the Terracotta Warriors, due to the nonstop flight availability between Xian and Zhangye. China’s Rainbow Mountains have much brighter colors compared to the Rainbow Mountains in Peru.