11 Days in China’s Southwest! A Specialist Photography Workshop Tour

Day 1: Guilin, Guanxi

Arriving in the famous Guilin of Guanxi province, you’ll have an opportunity to browse the vibrant night life and night lights before settling in our evening accommodations.
· Arrival at Guilin & Hotel
· Free to browse Guilin City at night

Day 2: Yangshuo, Guanxi

With an early breakfast, we’ll set out toward Yangshuo in the south to explore the Li River, a UNESCO World Heritage site that flows between unique karst mountains that look like something from an exotic movie location. There we’ll see the famous site that is pictured on every 20 RMB note and enjoy a short bamboo boat ride to introduce the incredible majesty of this landscape. In the afternoon we’ll check into our hotel early to prepare for evening activities, giving us a few hours to relax and enjoy incredible back-door scenery from our mountain-view hotel beloved by western guests. After an hour drive and about 20-30 minutes of climbing steps carved into stone, we’ll begin our first photo workshop. This workshop will provide teaching and personalized assistance on manual camera settings, aperture, hyperfocal distance and how to produce sharp, vibrant landscape imagery while situated upon the breathtaking Wuzhi Mountain.

• Breakfast at Hotel

• 8am-9: 30 am - Morning Drive to Yangshuo

• 9:30am-11:30 am – Li River Cruise

• 11:30 am-1 pm – Lunch & Visit Yangshuo Old Town

• 1pm-4 pm – Check into Yangshuo Mountain Retreat Hotel, Relax

• 4 pm-5 pm – Early Dinner at Hotel

• 5 pm-6 pm – Drive to Cuiping

• 6:30pm-9pm – Sunset Photo Workshop @ Wuzhi Mountain

• 9pm-10pm – Drive to Yangshuo Mountain Retreat Hotel (Evening Snacks Provided)

• Hotel in Yangshuo

Day 3: Congjiang, Guizhou & XiaoHuang Dong Village

On our third morning we’ll arise extra early for a special treat – a private photo excursion to capture the unique heritage of cormorant fisherman who use well-trained cormorant birds to dive and catch fish from within the Li River. While an ages old tradition, they are mostly seen today providing paying-tourists a photo opportunity with these remarkable creatures. We, however, will set out on boats at the early hours before dawn for a rare opportunity to produce dramatic, cultural photos of a nearly-lost tradition. During lunch we’ll enjoy delicious, authentic Guilin Rice Noodles before leaving Guanxi province.

We’ll then experience a taste of ultra-smooth and spacious travel by High-Speed Train from Guilin to Congjiang in Guizhou province. Upon meeting our driver, we’ll begin to explore authentic minority villages that are sure to please. Our senses will be overwhelmed by the exquisite detail and bursting color of minority apparel, by the impressive scale and architecture of both the Drum Towers and Wind-Rain Bridges built entirely without nails by the Dong people, and by the rhythmic and melodious Dong Kam Grand Choir.

• 5am-5:30am – Drive to Yangshuo (Morning Snacks Provided)

• 5:30am-7:30am – Cormorant Fishing Photo Workshop on the Li River @ Sunrise

• 7:30am-8am – Return to Hotel

• 8am-9am – Breakfast at Hotel & Prepare to Leave

• 9am-11am – Drive to Guilin City

• 11am-12:30 – Lunch in Guilin City (Maybe a Specialty Guilin Rice Noodle Restaurant?)

• 12:30pm-1pm - Transport to Guilin North Railway Station

• 2pm-3pm – High Speed Train to Congjiang, Guizhou

• 3:30pm-4:30pm – Drive to XiaoHuang Dong Village

• Dinner XiaoHuang Dong Village, enjoy Kam Grand Choir (DaGe Dong singing)

• Hotel at Zhaoxing Dong Village

Day 4: Miao Village & JiaBang Rice Terraces, Guizhou

Our fourth day provides a new photo workshop opportunity – people and culture photography! Here we’ll discuss framing, setting the scene, capturing motion, using a flash, and travel photography etiquette. After our arrival, we’ll journey into Basha Miao village to explore ages-old architecture, culture, and traditions. Our workshop will be in the form of a photo walk through the village, interacting with the locals and their culture. We’ll walk you through processes of creative awareness and present one-on-one technical coaching along the way. Though very special to see the hand-made jewelry, crafts, and costumes of the Miao people, it’s an especially rare privilege to glance in on the last community in China to make and own guns. We’ll conclude the day’s journey by stopping at Jiabang Rice Terraces, one of China’s top-five rated terrace locations, for a quick sunset photo excursion to capture the patterns and shapes on full display as a colorful sunset reflects off of the standing water in the terraces, or the shelves of rice plants bursting with green against the sunset – depending on the season, of course. Our stay will afford us spectacular evening and morning views of these famed terraces, perhaps right out your window.

• Breakfast at Hotel

• 8:30am-10am – Drive to Basha Miao Village 

• 10am-12:30 - People & Culture Photo Workshop

• 12:30-1:30 - Lunch

• 2pm-4pm – Drive to Jiabang Terraces

• 5pm – Dinner

• 6:30pm-8:30pm – Sunset photos at the rice terraces

• Hotel near Jiabang Terraces

Day 5: Seven Small Arches, Libo County – Pingtang, Guizhou

Continuing our drive through rural Guizhou, we’ll enjoy a quick stop at Seven Small Arches in southern Guizhou, a beautiful and remote UNESCO World Heritage location used for the filming of Survivor Games in September of 2015 with well-known adventurist Bear Grylls. Here we will introduce our fourth photo workshop focusing on long exposure photography. This location will give us a perfect opportunity to discuss and practice shutter speed and ISO relationships while capturing either important detail in low-light settings of the nearby caverns, or smooth and creamy water motion flowing over the surrounding waterfalls. After a day full of scenic travel and sights, we’ll arrive late to enjoy two nights of high-class comfort and accommodations at our 5-star hotel in Pingtang.

• Breakfast at Hotel

• 9:00am-11:30 – Start Drive to XiaoQiKong (Seven Small Arches) Scenic area

• 11:30-12:30 – Lunch

• 12:30pm-2:30pm – Arrive at XiaoQiKong

• 2:30pm-5pm – XiaoQiKong – Long Exposure Photo Workshop (Waterfall/Cave)

• 5pm-6: 30 pm – Drive to Pingtang, China FAST Hotel

• Dinner in Libo

Day 6: FAST Telescope, Mountains, and Night Photography - Pingtang, Guizhou

Our sixth day gives opportunities to explore, relax, and clear the memory cards for the days ahead. During the mid-morning, we’ll present an optional visit to a nearby Tainkeng, one of China’s largest sinkholes. The hiking path along the mountainside is gorgeous, and the scale of this landscape is just unending. After a lunch filled with local delicacies, you’ll have the option to visit and climb to FAST, the world’s largest radio telescope. Though the steps up are many, the FAST itself is quite impressive. The real treat, arguably, is the incredible mountaintop-view. But be prepared, only non-digital, film cameras are available from this location. You’ll be able to rent some Nikon SLRs, lenses, and film at the base, should you choose.

We’ll then head back for refreshing, fine dining at our hotel restaurant. This hotel along with its surrounding gardens is a luxurious favorite loved by our western guests. We’ll finish the evening with a night photography workshop in these remote mountains void of light pollution. And not to worry if we come across cloud-cover. We’ll be sure to bring along some spotlights to perhaps illuminate some mysterious and abandoned nearby-villages and mountainsides for stunning light-painted landscapes. This workshop will help us build upon our understanding of long-exposures and tripod usage, ISO performance, and how aperture settings affect varying nightscape situations.

• Breakfast at Hotel

• 9-11: 45 am – Drive to Pingtang Tiankeng

• 12pm-1pm - Lunch at (Restaurant near Visitor’s Center)

• 2 pm Arrival at China Fast Hotel

• 3pm-5:30pm – Optional visit to FAST Telescope

• 6 pm Dinner at Hotel

• 7:30-10: 30 pm - Night Photos & Light Painting Workshop at abandoned village or mountaintop

Day 7: Bamboo Boating & Bridges – From Pingtang to Xingyi, Guizhou

Our adventure leads us further through western Guizhou to the city of Xingyi. Dividing our drive, we’ll enjoy a relaxing hour of bamboo rafting in Daxiaojing followed by a quick local lunch. On the way out we’ll scale the mountain by bus for a view of Guizhou’s largest arch-span bridge, the Daxiaojing Bridge. Guizhou, after all, is home to more high bridges than any other location on the planet. Setting out from Xingyi’s nicest five-star hotel on day eight, we’ll soon stand in awe of the Wanfenglin landscape which literally translated means, 10,000 Hills. From a mountainside vantage you can clearly see why. Here we will grow our understanding of landscape photography, discussing the advantages of underexposing, HDR techniques and exposure bracketing, landscape framing, and even the creative use of telephoto for landscape photography.

• Breakfast at Hotel
• 9:30am-12pm - Drive to Daxiaojing
• 12pm-1pm – Lunch
• 1pm-2:30pm - Bamboo Boating
• 2:30pm-3:30pm – Bridge photos from mountaintop view
• 3:30pm-7pm - Drive to Xingyi
• Dinner & Hotel at Xingyi

Day 8: Xingyi, Wanfenglin, Malinghe, Guizhou

We’ll then enjoy a relaxing visit to the Xingyi Mellow Liquor Factory where baijiu, a rice wine enjoyed nation-wide, is produced. While our local guide can provide some explanation of the culture and processes surrounding baijiu, the real attraction is the 100 small brewing plants within the beautiful landscape of rolling vineyards and low karst peaks. We’ll end our evening with a short drive to Jilongbao Castle. Built by a local hydroelectric power magnate, the setting here is truly magnificent, the jade water of Wanfeng Lake and its surrounding karst peaks providing a stunning background to Jilongbao Castle. All of the resort's power is generated in its own hydro facility, and all the air conditioners use deep cold water from the bottom of the lake for circulation. Turrets and towers conceal honeymoon-style suites with large jacuzzis and exotic, circular water beds. If time and energy allows, you’ll also have the option to take a relaxing boat ride to the mini three gorges and stop along the way back to explore Skeleton Island. Whether at Jilongbao Castle’s exquisite in-house restaurant, or at a much more down-to-earth farmer’s restaurant hidden in a spectacular boulder-strewn valley, you’re sure to be well-fed and satisfied with authentic local cuisine.

• Breakfast at Hotel

• 8:30am-9am – Drive to Wanfenglin

• 9am-11:30am – Drive-through Wanfenglin – Landscape Framing Photo Workshop

• 11:30am-1pm – Lunch

• 1pm-3pm – Visit Elegance Park/Xingyi Mellow Liquor Factory

• 3pm-3:30pm – Drive to JiLongBao Castle

• 4pm-5:30pm – Optional Wanfenghu Cruise

• 5:30pm-7:30pm – Dinner at local farmer’s restaurant

• Hotel in JiLongBao Castle

Day 9: Wanfenghu Cruise, Guizhou & LuoPing, Yunnan

As we enter the last two days of our quest, we’ll navigate out of Guizhou province and into the area of Luoping, in Yunnan province. There we’ll be enchanted by the golden canola fields of Luoping and what some say are the most beautiful waterfalls of China – Jiulong Falls, which literally translated means, Nine Dragon Falls. During this photo workshop, we’ll learn about the use of ND filters and creative perspectives against these magnificient waterfalls. We’ll conclude the day with a two-hour drive to Shilin, home to what is best known by English-speakers as the Stone Forest - also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

• Breakfast at Hotel

• 7am-8:30am – Drive to JiuLong Waterfalls, Luoping, Yunnan

• 8:30am-12 – Explore JiuLong Waterfalls – Filters & Creative Perspectives Workshop

• 12-12:30pm – Drive to Luoping

• 12:30pm-2pm – Lunch in Luoping

• 2pm-3:30pm – Explore Luoping Fields

• 3:30-5:30pm Drive to Stone Forest/Shilin

• Dinner in Shilin, Stay at Chinese Yew Lake Hotel in Shilin

Day 10: Stone Forest & Kunming, Yunnan

“The early bird gets the worm,” as they say. And for our final photo workshop, we’ll be those early birds! As we venture out into the pristine landscape surrounding the Stone Forest well before dawn, we’ll discuss some common methods of location scouting, camera settings, and exposure formulas to produce crisp astrophotography images and finish by basking in the glory of a golden sunrise over scenes scattered with karst stone formations. Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to bring some snacks and coffee along for this special early morning activity.

After returning to the hotel for breakfast, we’ll enter into the Stone Forest scenic area for a few hours during the daylight. This will be a great opportunity to implement your widest-angle lens for some one-of-a-kind perspectives! We’ll then enjoy lunch in the area and have time to relax on our final two-hour drive to Kunming, famously known as the Spring City for its year-round spring-like weather. 

In this last tour destination, you’ll experience rich culture in this fast-growing capital city of Yunnan province. Arriving in the afternoon, you’ll be able to catch up on lost sleep from early morning workshop or browse the area. We’ll enjoy a comfortable dinner together and give you the freedom to soak up a taste of the local culture and atmosphere. Here you can enjoy the well-preserved Kunming Old Street, recently rebuilt Bird & Flower Market area, and of course the modern Nanping Street bustling with shopping opportunities to your heart’s content.

• 4am-8am – Astrophotography (Maybe Sunrise) & Location Scouting Photo Workshop

•  Note: Depending on which month, we will start at 10 pm, 2 am, or 4 am

• 8:30am-10am – Breakfast at Hotel

• 10:30am-3: 30 pm – Stone Forest (Lunch inside Stone Forest?)

• 3:30pm-5: 30 pm – Drive to Kunming

• 6 pm Dinner

• 7pm-9pm – Free to visit Kunming City

• Hotel in Kunming

Day 11: Send-off

Our final day begins with a time for breakfast and debriefing. Shortly after we’ll provide transfer to the airport or high-speed train as you prepare to reach your next destination. We’re confident this tour will leave you with a smile, having rewarded you with exciting adventures, stories to tell, lasting friendships, sharpened photography skills, and a portfolio you’ll treasure for a lifetime! And we’ll most certainly be ready to welcome you back next time to experience even more of Southwestern China’s incomparable cultural, historical, and scenic beauty.

• 9am-11am – Breakfast & Debriefing

• Send-off to Airport or HST Station