Danxia Mountain 丹霞山

About Danxia Mountain

Erosion has separated the rock into towers and distinctive formations, including Yangyuan Stone, while paths and temple sites occupy ledges and higher ground. Choose one principal walking area and leave time to study the layered rock faces. River sightseeing is a separate way to understand the terrain, but neither boats nor steep hill routes should be assumed available in every weather condition.

The name Danxia Shan dates to 820, when the Chan monk Tianran (天然禅师) saw the mountain's rock 'as vivid as vermilion, bright as morning cloud' and renamed it accordingly, founding Danxia Temple (丹霞寺). In the late Ming and early Qing the loyalist Li Yongmao (李永茂) and his family took refuge here, buying the mountain from local scholars and cutting gates, stone steps and ladders into the cliffs. In 1928 the geologist Feng Jinglan (冯景兰) named its red sandstone beds the 'Danxia strata,' a term later adopted as 'Danxia landform.'

Structural uplift after the late Cretaceous raised the red-bed basin in intermittent stages, producing dense vertical joints in the rock. Rainwater then cut downward along these joints, widening them into steep-walled gullies and gorges that separate the mountain's red sandstone into towers and cliffs.

Danxia Mountain is a national nature reserve, a national key scenic area and a national geopark, and was named one of the first UNESCO Global Geoparks on 13 February 2004. In 2010 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the joint 'China Danxia' nomination with five other Danxia landform sites, becoming Guangdong's only World Natural Heritage property. Its cliff inscriptions (摩崖石刻) were listed among the seventh batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level in 2013.

What to look for

• Red, layered sandstone forms sheer cliffs and isolated rock towers.
• Yangyuan Stone is a distinctive freestanding formation in its own visitor area.

Location & getting there

Getting to Danxia Mountain

Travel to the Danxia Mountain scenic entrance in Renhua County from Shaoguan or Shaoguan East railway station using a current scenic-area connection or an arranged car. The regional guide identifies both stations as departure points; confirm the day’s service and which internal area you intend to visit.