13 Real Places That Look Like Straight Up Fantasy Worlds

9. Red Beach, Panjin, China

You'd be forgiven for mistaking these wetlands for an alien world, but they're actually in China.

The ruby tint of the landscape is caused by a type of grass called Suaeda salsa. It is one of the few species of grass that can thrive in highly alkaline soil and deepens to a blood red hue as it matures.

Incidentally, although this is an entirely earthly phenomenon, those folks over at NASA think that there could be planets out there with this kind of bright red scenery. The exoplanet Kepler-186f orbits a star that gives of very red light, and scientists think that the plants would evolve a deep red hue to match.