Valley-floor streets
The main streets follow the bottom of the valley, where the ground is flattest. The result is an elongated town plan instead of a square grid.
Tabula geographica minimalis · China
34.7511° N / 104.8313° E
A small settlement in Gansu's loess country, with roads following valley floors between eroded, terraced hills.





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In pariete



Tabula
This Shandan lies in the southeastern part of Gansu, where the Loess Plateau breaks up into steep valleys and ridges. On a map the settlement follows the lowest ground. Streets run along the valley floor, and the slopes above are marked by the contour-like lines of terraced fields, cut into the soft yellow earth over generations of farming.
Loess country produces some of the most distinctive terrain in China, and even a small town takes its shape from it. Roads bend to follow the gullies, and houses cluster where the land flattens out. The terraces spread across the hillsides in layered bands, so the wider landscape can look almost like a topographic drawing.
A Shandan map poster picks up that rhythm. The built-up area is modest, a strip of streets and blocks along the valley, but the setting fills the frame with texture. In black and white it reads as a portrait of a place shaped as much by the soil and the slope as by any plan.
The main streets follow the bottom of the valley, where the ground is flattest. The result is an elongated town plan instead of a square grid.
Farm terraces step up the surrounding hillsides in layered bands. At wider scales they form the most striking texture on the map.
Roads into town bend through gullies and along ridges, shaped by the loess terrain. Their curves contrast with the tighter blocks in the centre.
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Cur Shandan
For anyone with roots in the loess hills of Gansu, this map shows a landscape that is hard to capture in a photograph: valleys, terraces and a town that fits itself between them.
Write the title in the form you prefer, add a family name or date, and pick Classic black & white, Noir, Paper, Blueprint or Sand. Start with a free 900 px preview, then download the HD files for $9.
Eme tabulam Shandan| Magnitudo impressionis | Resolutio | Fasciculi |
|---|---|---|
| 30 × 40 cm (11.8 × 15.7″) | 3,543 × 4,724 px | PNG · PDF |
| 29.7 × 42 cm (A3, 11.7 × 16.5″) | 3,508 × 4,961 px | PNG · PDF |
| 42 × 59.4 cm (A2, 16.5 × 23.4″) | 4,961 × 7,016 px | PNG · PDF |
| 45.7 × 61 cm (18 × 24″) | 5,400 × 7,200 px | PNG · PDF |
| 50 × 70 cm (19.7 × 27.6″) | 5,906 × 8,268 px | PNG · PDF |
| 61 × 91.4 cm (24 × 36″) | 7,200 × 10,800 px | PNG · PDF |
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