Visitors flock to Shaanxi for its natural beauty

"The scenery is stunning," Ilia Popov, 25, a Russian pursuing postgraduate studies at a university in Xianyang, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, exclaimed when taking in the majesty of the Ganquan Canyon. "It's like a painter has drawn his brush across the stone."

Located in Ganquan county, Yan'an, Shaanxi province, the Ganquan Canyon is a slot canyon tucked away on the Loess Plateau, earning it the nickname of China's equivalent to the Antelope Canyon in Arizona, the United States. Yan'an is also renowned for its Red tourism.

Carved from red sandstone over tens of millions of years through wind erosion, water dissolution and scouring, the Ganquan Canyon is a unique kind of landscape, known as a Danxia landform.

It consists of more than 120 gorges, each with distinctive features. Among the most well-known is Huashugou Gorge. It stretches about 1,100 meters, soaring to over 20 meters at its highest point, with widths ranging from one to two meters. Its narrowest point at the floor of the gorge is just 20 centimeters.

Popov made his way through the gorge — wide at first, before narrowing gradually until, at its deepest point, allowing only one visitor to pass at a time.

Back home, he posted the photos on social media, where his friends commented that the scenery looked like a scene straight out of a sci-fi film.

The canyon first captured widespread public attention through stunning images shared online by photographers about a decade ago.

In 2017, the Ganquan Canyon scenic area was established and opened to the public. It received 38,000 visitors during the recently concluded National Day holiday.

No one knows its gorges better than Yan Dong, a 62-year-old photographer based in Xi'an, Shaanxi, who devoted himself to exploring the Ganquan Canyon between 2015 and 2021.

Yan recalled that in 2015, several of the gorges were only known among local villagers and photographers, and he resolved to fully explore the canyon.

He braved wild conditions, sought guidance from elderly local villagers and plotted his routes on maps. At the peak of his explorations, he visited the site more than 100 times in a single year.

He said he had personally explored more than 30 gorges in the Ganquan Canyon — all previously unknown to outsiders — photographed them and published a photography album of his work.

"Something seemed to draw me deeper into exploring the canyon, as if I were on a mission," Yan said.

The endeavor was not without risks. He suffered several accidents and injuries, but he never gave up.

"Every gorge has its own soul. To others, they may look similar, but to me, each one is different, as if they were my own children. Within each gorge, every section and every spot is distinctive, each yielding unique photographic opportunities," Yan said.

The most vibrant colors appear at midday, when sunlight streams into the gorges, he said. "If you visit the day after it rains, the moss is greener and the red sandstone takes on an even deeper hue. It looks even more spectacular."

Yan added that he is proud to have contributed to local tourism through his photography.

For conservation purposes, the scenic area only opens about five of the canyon's gorges to the public, with two gorges available each day depending on weather and other conditions on the day.

Wu Wenjing, a tour guide based in Yan'an, said that many tourists sign up for one-day tours that depart from the city's downtown, which is more than 80 kilometers away.

She added that as Yan'an was the center of the Communist revolution from 1935 to 1948 and the former home of the headquarters of the Communist Party of China, Red tourism sites are also popular destinations, in addition to other natural scenic spots.

Wu noted that facilities and services at the scenic area have improved to accommodate a steady rise in visitors to the Ganquan Canyon in recent years.

Contact the writers at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn

If you go

The Ganquan Canyon scenic area sets an adult ticket price of 168 yuan ($25), which covers admission and a mandatory shuttle bus ride. Visitors can drive to the scenic area from Xi'an or Yan'an, both in Shaanxi province. Alternatively, visitors can take a high-speed train from Xi'an to Ganquan North Railway Station, then take a 40-kilometer taxi ride to the scenic area.