2 Days Dongchuan Red Land Photography Excursion

Day 01: Kunming - Dongchuan

Your tour guide will pick you up from your Kunming hotel in the morning. It is a good 3 hour drive up to Dongchuan, so if you want to stock up with some delicious sandwiches and cakes, ask the driver to stop off at the Wicker Basket Bakery on the way.

Dongchuan Red Land is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Kunming, high on the Wumeng mountain plateau, lying at a similar altitude to the provincial capital.  At present, there are only two buses per day serving this area, both of which are long and arduous 5-6 hour journeys over bumpy, unpaved roads.  Travelling by private car cuts that time down to just 3 or 4 fours, leaving much more time to explore this lesser-known part of Yunnan. Although large steel platforms and boardwalks have recently been constructed for visiting photographers, there are as yet, no buses connecting these spread-out locations and therefore, a car is essential if you want to avoid long hikes between the different viewing points.

The region is divided into several different viewing areas, with some of them being more than ten kilometres apart, making it imperative to have a guide and a knowledgeable driver. Luoxiagou (Sunset Valley) is surrounded by mountains and requires a telephoto lens to get the best long-distance shots of the distant villages. Late afternoon is the best time to set up your tripod here. Other good sunset locations include Wafang Liangzi (Tiled House Bridge) and Lousiwan (River Snail Bay).

There are at least thirty hotels and guest houses in the area but most are very simple, often with shared bathrooms and squat toilets. We recommend that our guests stay at the Shanju Hotel, the best accommodation in the area. Do not expect many of the locals to speak English. This is a minority area, and many of them even struggle with Mandarin. Even so, they are friendly, outgoing and usually quite willing to have their pictures taken. Once night falls the temperature drops quite rapidly to about 10°C/18°F, especially when there are strong winds blowing, so it is advisable to have some warm clothes to protect you from the cold.

Day 02: Dongchuan - Kunming

Damakan is the best site to see the sunrise which usually occurs around 6 am, when the red slopes begin to emerge from the early morning sea of mist. Yuepuao (Music Hollow) is good at both day-break and at dusk. It faces west, which gives it great frontal lighting from around 8:00 am onwards, but it is also a good spot to catch the afterglow of the sunset, when the fields are clouds bathed in red, purple and orange. The name comes from the idea that the many tiers terraces resemble musical staves, with the farmers in the fields representing the individual notes. Jinxiuyuan (Embroidery Garden) features a large expanse of rolling red hills, making it a great location for wide angle shots featuring trees and villages. Qicaipo (Seven-Colours Hillside) takes its name from the seven different crops that are planted in this area, but you need to be here at just the right time of year to see it in its full splendor. Yueliangtian (Moon Fields) some 20 km from Huashitou Village, combines layers of terraced fields and valleys, many of which are filled with water in April and May, reflecting the sun like a shining moon in the sunset.  If you wish to travel even further into this off-the-beaten-track area, Jiaozi Snow Mountain is only another two hours away, where the slopes are covered with snow from October to mid-April.

If you decide to head straight back to Kunming, then we will make sure that you are in good time to catch the highly rated Dynamic Yunnan Show.