Perhaps one of the things that makes the Zhang ye Danxia landforms such an amazing place to visit is that few tourists take the time to visit, at least when compared to many other popular tourist attractions. Due to the location of the mountains being off the beaten trail and being somewhat difficult and expensive to get to, opting to go there often ends in opting out.
The magnificently coloured mountain land formations have come to be that way as a result of red sandstone and mineral deposits, which have been gradually laid down over a vast period of 25 million years. The same tectonic plates that formed the Himalayas mountains buckled the rock into place, and then wind and rain carved all of the natural shapes and colours. While the attraction does take some commitment to visit, board walks and roads have been constructed to encourage more tourism and exploration of these incredible rock formations.