Mysterious beauty of Ganquan Canyon's sandstone scenery

As time passed by, the passageways eroded, the corridors became deeper and the hard edges smoothened out, leaving layers of stripes on the surface of the rocks. This happened in such a way as to form the visual effect of "flowing" shapes across the surface of the rocks, which themselves take on a distinctly red hue on sunny days.

"The gigantic size of the cliffs dwarfs humans. Walking at the bottom of the canyon feels like diving deep into the ocean," said Liu Hulin, chairman of Ganquan county writers' association, who often organizes photography trips to the canyon.

"Sunshine casting into the canyon through the fissures turns the rock surface into different tones after being refracted between the two sides of the canyon wall. And the angle of the light rays changes throughout the day, making the views of the canyon become more lively," Liu adds.