Zhangjiajie-Type Landscape

This is a representative sandstone landform in the sub-tropical climatic region of southern China. It formed on near-horizontal Middle and Upper Devonian quartzite strata as a result of geological forces associated with fluvial erosion, gravity collapse and biological weathering of plants. The landform is dominated by representative geomorphological features such as large stone pillars with straight edges, deeply cut gorges, stone walls and natural bridges. In the central part of the Zhangjiajie Global Geopark, there are more than 3,100 stone pillars of heights from tens of metres to 400 m. This landform is spectacular, and as it was first discovered in Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province, it was called the Zhangjiajie sandstone forest landform. During the Zhangjiajie International Workshop on Sandstone Landforms, which was organised by the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and held in November 2010, Mr. Andrew Goudie, past chairman of IAG, Mr. Robert Wray, chairman of the...