Zhangye Ganzhou Airport

机About this airport

Zhangye Ganzhou Airport serves Zhangye, a Silk Road oasis city in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu province. Zhangye is known internationally primarily for the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park — a landscape of multicoloured Cretaceous sandstone and conglomerate formations that erosion has revealed as stripes of red, orange, yellow, grey, green and purple across the hillsides. The Rainbow Mountains photograph well at dawn and dusk when the oblique light intensifies the colour saturation.

Flights connect primarily from Lanzhou, with some routes to other cities [VERIFY: current routes — May 2026]. High-speed rail from Zhangye West on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang line reaches Lanzhou in approximately 2 hours and Jiayuguan in approximately 40 minutes, making rail a practical alternative.

The Danxia Scenic Area is approximately 40 km east of Zhangye city, accessible by tourist bus or taxi. The coloured rock formations are best photographed in morning and evening light; midday sun flattens the colour contrast. The site is increasingly popular with both domestic and international visitors following its viral social media circulation.

Zhangye city itself has the Giant Buddha Temple — housing a reclining Buddha of 34.5 metres, one of the largest in China — and the Daoist Linxiao Temple. Marco Polo is said to have spent a year in Zhangye during his journey. The surrounding Zhangye National Wetland Park, on the edge of the city, is an unexpected green space within the desert corridor.