Mount Danxia () is a noted scenic mountainous area in

Renhua County Renhua ( postal: Yanfa; ) is a county of northernmost Guangdong province, China, bordering Jiangxi to the northeast and Hunan to the northwest. It is under the administration of Shaoguan City. History Renhua County has a long history, as it was es ...

, in the northern part of

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province. It is described on the local signage as a "world famous

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

geopark of China". It was inscribed as part of the China Danxia

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 2010 because of its unique geographical in formations and spectacular scenery.

Description

The Danxia area is formed from a reddish

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

which has been eroded over time into a series of outcrops surrounded by spectacular cliffs and many unusual rock formations known as

Danxia landform The Danxia landform () refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs". It is a unique type of petrographic geomorphology found in China. Danxia landform is ...

. There are a number of temples located on the mountains and many scenic walks can be undertaken. There is also a river winding through the mountains on which boat trips can be taken.

Rock formations

Among other attractions that make the Danxia range interesting, the area has the following characteristic stone formations: *Yang Yuan Stone, (' "male/father stone") bearing a remarkable resemblance to a

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

*Yin Yuan Stone or ' hole, which somewhat resembles a

vulva The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external sex organ, female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, bulb of vestibu ...

. *Breasts Stone, human breast-shaped rocky outcrops on a cliff hanging above the ground. *Sleeping Beauty, a rocky range resembling a sleeping maiden.

Geology

Mount of Danxia is identified by multi-layered red sedimentary rocks of

and

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

, and the area of was formed by the fluvial deposition through the basin 140-65 million years ago. The weather in Danxia area assist the oxidation reaction in rocks, and turned the color of them into red. Then these sediments were uplifted and condescend by water, and being accreted during the process. Finally, the area of Danxia was formed. Since six million years ago, the basin of Danxia area has experienced several intermittent rises, which average increase of about per 10,000 years. With the favor of water washing by the river, the mount of Danxia is cut into many layers, and formed the mount of Danxia nowadays.

Climate

Mount of Danxia locate at the southern side of the Nan Mountains, and it is in the

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

southern margin, which is the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

Temperature

The annual average temperature of Danxia Mountain is , the extreme minimum temperature is , the extreme maximum temperature is , and the maximum monthly average day is . The hottest month is July which has an average temperature of , and the coldest month has an average temperature of . The average temperature in autumn is higher than spring's.

Sunshine

The total annual hour of sunshine in Danxia Mountain is 1,721 hours annually, the solar radiation is , and the average sunshine hours are 4.7 hours per day. More sunshine for July to September, less for February to April.

Precipitation

The daily average

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

is , and the precipitation period is 172 days annually. The precipitation from March to August is about the 75% of total precipitation in a year, and the most concentrated precipitation is from April to June, which is about 48% precipitation of a year. The maximum annually precipitation in history is 1994, and the minimum precipitation is in 1963.

Humidity

The average absolute humidity of Danxia mount is 19.8mb, and the

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

is 81%.

Natural resources

Plants

The flora of Danxia Mountain is mainly composed by the tropical and subtropical flora, but lacks the typical tropical genus, and the amount of the

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

is relatively large. The landform of DanXia has significant effects on the growth of plants. Since the mount of DanXia has many deep valleys, grooves, the environment of Danxia is moisture, which in favor of the growth of moss. Also, The special landscape and the humid monsoon climate permit the growth of evergreen broadleaf forests, endemic plants, endangered and new species such as

Danxia Viola Danxia may refer to: * Mount Danxia, scenic mountain in Guangdong, China * Danxia landform, named after the mountain * China Danxia The Danxia landform () refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "cons ...

Danxia orchid Danxia may refer to: * Mount Danxia, scenic mountain in Guangdong, China * Danxia landform, named after the mountain * China Danxia, collective name of six areas of Danxia landform inscribed on the World Heritage Site See also * Zhangye Danxia Nat ...

Danxia Firmiana Danxia may refer to: * Mount Danxia, scenic mountain in Guangdong, China * Danxia landform, named after the mountain * China Danxia, collective name of six areas of Danxia landform inscribed on the World Heritage Site See also * Zhangye Danxia Nat ...

and Danxia Chiritopsis.

Animals

Various wild animals exist in the mount of Danxia, including 88 species of mammals, 288 species of birds, 86 species of reptiles, 37 species (or subspecies) of amphibians, 100 species or subspecies of fish, and 1023 species of insects. Also, there are 59 species of animals, in Danxia mountain, enlisted in the "Red List of China Species"; 73 species of animals enlisted in the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

; 66 species enlisted in

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

Ancient heritage

On the margin of the southwest Danxia basin, a cracked skull was found, and the evidence shows that it is the skull of a

Maba man Maba Man () is a pre-modern hominin whose remains were discovered in 1958 in caves near the town called Maba, near Shaoguan city in the north part of Guangdong province, China.''Wu R. K.'' et ''Pang R.-C.'' Fossil human skull of early Paleoanthr ...

, which is around 30,000 years old.

Features

File:Sunset from Xuanjitai 3.jpg, Rocky summits File:丹霞山 06 (cropped).jpg, Craggy face File:Danxia 0746.JPG, Red cliff File:Slot Canyon at Danxiashan.jpg, Slot canyon File:Danxiashan yangyuanshi.jpg, Yang Yuan Stone File:Female Stone 2.jpg, Yin Yuan Stone

References

External links

Guangdong: Yangyuan Stone
Retrieved 2007-3-31.

Retrieved 2007-3-31. {{Authority control Danxia Global Geoparks Network members Danxia landform Tourist attractions in Guangdong Shaoguan Geoparks in China