About 570 million years ago, tremendous changes took place in northwest China. When the sea subsided, the Qilian Mountain Grassland arose.

"Qilian" is a term the ancient nomadic Hun living in north China used to refer to the "heavenly mountain". Today, the Uygur people, the descendents of the Hun, still call Qilian the "heavenly mountain".

Qilian Mountain Grassland lies in the boundary of Gansu and Qinghai Province. In ancient Hun, Qilian Mountain means "Heavenly Mountain", and which is assessed one of "The Most Beautiful Six Grasslands of China".

The grassland at the foot of the mountain has plenty of water and pasture, In ancient times, it was a grazing ground for the Hun chieftains and Mongolian nobles. Its distinct climate and good weather gained it the name of "golden lotus prairie' in the Tibetan epic king Gesar, and the Uygurs and the Mongols also call it "golden pasture."

The famous Damaying Grassland is one of delegates of Qilian Mountain Grassland, which is in the basin between Yanzhi Mountain and Qilian Mountain. The slopes of the mountain are covered with dense forests and white caragana. Further to the east stretch the Xizhang and Dongzhang grasslands in the Sunan Uygur Autonomous County. The total area of there is 2,192 square kilometers.

In here the hypsography is flat and vast, ground is rich, grass is luxuriant and livestock is flourishing, and its 120 kilometers to Ganzhou City. From July to August of the year, Qilian Mountain which joints to grassland is still covered by snow, but the grassland is a boundless expanse of blue water, and flocks of horse, cattle and sheep sprinkle among them. When breeze blowing, you will have a feeling of returning to nature and in the dreamland. The first pasture of far east with flat landform, lush float grass and famous in China and foreign countries - Shandan Army Horse-Breeding Farm is built in here.