China Through A Photographers Lens

I can remember our first trip to China like it was yesterday! It was a long flight, followed by nightmarish negotiations at a bus terminal (we spoke very little Mandarin), and an even longer bus journey.

The bus dropped us in the middle of a busy intersection, it was chaotic and we had to dodge cars, motorbikes and the occasional buffalo all while carrying a ton of photography equipment and our heavy backpacks. Immediately we were set upon by street vendors and hawkers who’d strategically positioned themselves at the bus stop, it was an onslaught and we barely escaped with our lives, before finally reaching our hostel.

The hostel was tucked away down a small side street away from the hustle and bustle, it was warm and inviting, with a large wooden door and decorated with old red lanterns. Standing in the door-way was a very small, old lady, who was smiling and beckoning us inside. We were honestly just happy to escape the street vendors!

The lady brought over some Chinese Tea and began speaking to us in Mandarin, before chuckling after she realized we didn’t understand a word! Fortunately she had a translate app on her phone and we had Google Translate on ours, and after a few hilarious hiccups we managed to secure our room and get a map of the local area.

We both had very mixed feelings about China during our first week there, it’s a challenging and testing place, but it’s a place that quickly grew on us! Before long we’d learned some basic Mandarin, could travel more easily, avoid the scams and order something remotely appetising off a menu. By the time we had left China we were both hooked and couldn’t wait to return again.

China consists of 56 different ethnic minorities and its landscapes are vast and varied making it an intriguing place to capture, and we soon realised how rapidly China was changing and modernising, which made it even more thrilling to try and capture some of these moments before they’re gone for good!

It’s a place that helped us progress as photographers as we constantly battled with difficult conditions, and a heck load of pollution! We scouted locations and re-visited places numerous times all while soaking up the local atmosphere and trying to get our heads around the crazy landscapes.

Here’s our top list of places to photograph in the Middle Kingdom.

Guilin

Guilin and Yangshuo were two of the first places we visited in China and the landscapes there are like something straight out of a fairy-tale!

The towering karst-peaks and winding rivers are reminiscent of old, Chinese oil-paintings and provide the keen photographer with endless opportunities.

Guilin is a great destination to visit year round, however our personal favorite time to visit is during the wetter months as there’s a greater chance to catch the sea of clouds. It also provides the most photogenic scenery as early morning mist hugs the limestone-karsts, creating a more enchanting scene.

In-between photographing the landscapes there’s plenty of portrait shooting to take part in. Ancient villages provide a glimpse into the daily life of the older generation of Chinese, while quaint fishing villages such as Xingping provide a deeper look into old traditions such as Cormorant Fishing.

The Great Wall Of China

We’ve been lucky enough to explore the Great Wall Of China extensively, and across various seasons. While each season brings different conditions, autumn is a great time to visit as it gives the surrounding landscape a much needed splash of colour! If you’re heading to The Great Wall in autumn I would recommend a trip to the Mutianyu section, and if you time it right you can beat the crowds and get some fantastic images. Spring is another great time to visit this section as the cherry blossoms will be in full swing and add a different dynamic for photography.

Jinshanling is another great spot for photography, this part of the wall is good for hiking and has been partially restored. I recommend a trip here during spring or autumn and if you’re lucky in the mornings you can capture some great images of the “cloud sea” as the cloud weaves in and out of the wall. Just be aware that this is the most popular spot for local Chinese photographers and as a result it can get very busy on the weekends, so plan accordingly.

If you’re feeling even more adventurous then we also recommend visiting a wild section of the Great Wall and maybe even camp on it like we did! We visited the wild section called Gubeiko, which is near the Jinshanling and Simatai sections of the Great Wall. During our hike we didn’t see anyone else and it was an incredible place to watch the sun set and rise with the wall twisting and turning on the mountain ridges as far as the eye could see.

The Yellow Mountains

One of our favorite places to visit in China is Huangshan Mountains, so much so that we spent a week there on a recent trip! The mountain area, also known as the Yellow Mountains, is huge, there’s more than a few days worth of hiking routes and the whole area is a feast for the camera lens. We also recommend visiting some of the ancient villages in the local area such as Huizhou or Hongcun, both of which are equally beautiful.

If you wish to capture sunrise or sunset on the mountain then you will need to make a hotel reservation in advance and shell out a good few dollars as the rooms aren’t cheap, and they sell out quickly! Alternatively you could camp, like we did, however there are only select hotels which will allow you to camp on their grounds and they will charge you a small fee for a pretty uncomfortable nights sleep! Was it worth it for the views? You betcha!

Hangzhou

Hangzhou is a short bullet-train ride from Shanghai and when you’re not photographing the essence of China, which is portrayed so well around the city’s tea plantations and bamboo forests, you can soak up a more relaxed atmosphere around one of the lakes.

West Lake is the main focal point in Hangzhou and it’s so large there are small buses that can take you around the different sections. We highly recommend going down to the waterfront at sunrise to witness a peaceful start to the day. Many local Chinese people use that time to exercise, practice martial arts or fine tune their calligraphy skills. You will find this is a great place to photograph the local life in the city.

Once the rest of the city has woken up there is a real buzz about the place and you’ll find plenty of eateries and cafes around the lake where you can sit and soak up the atmosphere.

Xiandu

If you’re looking for somewhere a little off the beaten path in China, well at least in Western terms, then head to Xiandu. This is a pretty average place in terms of sights and things to do but if you want to experience the real Chinese countryside and see rural life then it’s a great place to start.

If you’re visiting Xiandu I recommend packing a drone to capture some of the unique limestone cliffs along the river.

It’s a tricky place to travel to if you don’t speak Mandarin but with a little help form our host and a translate app it turned out to be a great trip for us!

Shanghai

We got to know Shanghai quite well over a couple of trips and the numerous weeks we spent there. It’s definitely the most westernized Chinese city we visited, however it certainly hasn’t lost any of its charm! The Bund, is always an interesting place to capture, and If you visit The Bund at sunrise you can watch locals practice Tai Chi and various martial arts.

Sunset is another great time for photography around The Bund and the glowing lights of the modern skyscrapers adds a great contrast to the darkening sky.

Once you’ve visited the bund there’s plenty of unique architecture and interesting buildings to photograph, whether that be the European style buildings along the waterfront, or the golden glow of Jing’an Temple located in the city centre.

I also recommend visiting some of the cities parks as you’ll see all sorts of interesting activities taking place.

Xian

There’s two reasons to visit Xian, the food and the history. We knew we were going to be impressed by the Terracotta Warriors, but the food was a welcome surprise!

There are numerous night markets in Xi’an and the most popular is the one in the Muslim Quarter on the old Silk Road. There is a huge variety of different foods to try and there are some great opportunities for some cool street shots.

When visiting the Terracotta Warriors there are several places to take photographs of these ancient statues, but we highly recommend taking a zoom lens to get more atmospheric shots.

Another great part of the city to visit is the Xi’an City Wall. Unfortunately on our visit the weather wasn’t the best, but we still enjoyed walking around the ancient wall and watching the lanterns bring it to life as dusk fell upon the city.

Danxia Landform

We booked an impromptu trip to Danxia Landform, also know as Rainbow Mountains, after hearing how different it was to anywhere else in China. Unlike the famous Rainbow Mountain in Peru, these mountains aren’t visited by as many Western tourists. It’s popular with domestic tourists though so avoid weekends and holidays if you can.

We were blown away by the landscapes and colours of these mountains, and each of the 4 huge viewing platforms provided different, but equally impressive views.

There’s a winding road that snakes its way through the colourful mountains and lends itself to showing the scale of the landscape in photographs.

Beijing

Beijing is a one of our favorite places in China, we first visited when the city was gripped by the cold of winter and were fortunate enough to revisit numerous times since. It’s an intriguing place full of temples, ancient streets, hutongs and parks.

The capital city is huge and even with the metro you’ll end up doing a lot of walking! There are so many interesting sights to capture, like The Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. If you want to capture local life the hutongs and parks are a great place to go.

Yunnan Province

The Yunnan Province in the Southwest of China has so much to offer, especially if you pick the right time of year.

Near to the small city of Luoping is a vast landscape of karsts towering out of the ground. At certain times of the year fields of bright yellow rapeseed grows around the karsts creating a beautiful blanket of colour.

Just over an hour from the capital, Kunming, is the popular Stone Forest, also known as Shilin. The forest features unique limestone formations and covers a huge area to be explored.

Further south you’ll find Yuanyang Rice Terraces. Although these are an incredible sight year round, if you visit when the terraces are full of water you will have the best photography conditions. As the sun rises and falls the colours and clouds reflect into the water like a mirror and if you’re lucky you may also get a morning mist or low laying clouds to add to the atmosphere.

If you head north of the capital Kunming you will find the Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-la and Tiger Leaping Gorge.