23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
The Devil's City, Sculpted by Time

An ever-changing sunset illuminates this timeless geological wonder. When eons of wind erosion meet a twenty-minute dusk, the enduring and the ephemeral together define eternity. The setting sun cloaks them in its glow, staging an eternal drama of existence and passage. The whispers carried on the wind echo like the waves of an ancient lake, or sighs of time slipping through the cracks. The beauty here is majestic, desolate, and divine—it humbles one with a sense of insignificance, yet inspires profound reverence for the power of nature.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2024
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: China
Camera: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Copyright: © 青 张