Photo adjustments
Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Explore the region
About Gaoyiling Scenic Area
The terrain is Danxia: red sandstone worn into steep butte-like blocks, cliffs, ravines and flat benches, with caves and standing water between them. Gaoyiling is counted as a component of the wider Feitianshan tourism area, and its planned extent is about 11 square kilometres, of which 2.2 square kilometres opened in the first phase.
For years the gullies took coal ash and slag from a thermal power station. Ash blew across the site, vegetation suffered and soil washed away, and because Danxia formations cannot regenerate the damage was difficult to undo. Remediation reshaped the landform, capped it with soil, transplanted vegetation and cleared the watercourses. The tourist area opened on 27 September 2021; in September 2023 the Hunan Department of Culture and Tourism published a notice that it had met the national AAAA standard, and it served as one of the inspection points of the second Hunan Tourism Development Conference.
What to look for
- The steep red buttes and the ravines and standing water between them, the combination the provincial grading notice describes as red rock and clear water
- The reshaped and replanted gullies that were formerly the power station's ash-disposal ground
- A suspension bridge strung across the Danxia terrain
- A glass-floored walkway built along the rock
Location & getting there
Getting to Gaoyiling Scenic Area
Use an authorised visitor route. Cave sections, geological sites and access roads can close independently, so confirm the area that your ticket covers.
- Search for 高椅岭 with 郴州市 and 苏仙区.
Find Gaoyiling Scenic Area
高椅岭 · 苏仙区
No reliable map pin yet: search by the Chinese name.
Sources & visit information
The linked sources support the identity and background described in this introduction. Opening hours, admission, activity availability and exact arrival arrangements have not been comprehensively checked. Confirm current visitor information with the venue; the original catalogue locality and editorial review flag are retained.