Guilin autumn photo tour 19-25/9

Autumn is the best time to take pictures in Guilin. The Longji rice fields are golden coloured, farmers start harvesting... Fall is also pretty dry, so we should be able to concentrate on sunrise and sunset time, when the shape of the karst peaks are accentuated. (Of course you are always free to give some early mornings a miss !) We spend a lot of time to frame local life : colourful markets, painters, calligraphers, the making of tofu and oil tea ...

Sunday 19 september :

Arrival airport Guilin. By taxi to the 4-star Bravo Hotel, earlier location of the local Sheraton.

Late afternoon we`ll go to Elephant Park and some other scenic spots in Guilin. Sunset over the karst peaks of Guilin.

We get to know each other at a round table while enjoying many kinds of delicious Chinese food.

Monday 20 september : Scenic spot sunrise; early market pics; breakfast in our hotel.

We visit the famous Reed Flute Cave. Western food for lunch. In the afternoon we`ll take buffalo and other countryside pics in Huixian.

We check in for 2 days in the popular Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, situated along the picturesque Yulong river and amid the karst peaks; sunset pics from closeby.

Tuesday 21 september : sunrise and breakfast along the Yulong river ...

Today we`ll spend a whole day exploring the amazing countryside around Yangshuo in an open electric car. We`ll also focus on local trades and artists. Plenty of room to make great portraits.

Lunch in the Luna-restaurant facing Moon Hill.

In the evening we`ll attend Impression Liu San Jie, a sound- and light spectacle, based on traditional themes, but put into a modern decor by China`s famous director Zhang Yimou. He majored in photography and that does not go unnoticed !

After some night pics in Yangshuo`s famous West Street, we`ll finish in the Belgian reggae bar Kaya.

Wednesday 22 september : after a richly deserved late brunch, we head out to take pics of the painting of big traditional fans.

Visit an old fishing village and then shoot fishermen using cormorants and fishing lights, an art they have inherited over countless generations. This is performed on the Li river against a backdrop of a sunset and karst peaks.

We`ll stay for one night in the best place in town, the Youth Hostel. As always we`ll be in twin rooms.

Thursday 23 september : This morning we`ll pack a lunch packet and leave early on a one-hour boattrip to Xialong, a well-known spot for Li river sunrises.

We continue to Yangdi by bamboo raft. From Yangdi it is a 3-hour ride to the Longji rice fields.

During late afternoon we`ll visit viewpoint 1 and 2. You are free to take pics here.

In the village of Pingan we`ll stay for 2 nights in a scenic and comfortable guesthouse owned by a photojournalist. In the evening we`ll taste some of the local kitchen: this is Zhuang minority area !

Friday 24 september : day trip to the village of Dazhai, where we`ll see even bigger rice terraced fields in Yao minority area. It will be gorgeous as this time of year, at the beginning of the harvesting season, the terraces are `golden`.

On arrival we`ll climb slowly for an hour (porters are available). You`ll get an amazing view once you`re near the top. You get plenty of time to improvise.

We`ll go another gorgeous path downhill. Goodbye party !

Saturday 25 september : Back to Guilin airport.

Price

4-5 persons: 690 Euro a person

6-8 persons: 590 Euro a person

This price includes almost everything !! Included is : organisation, English-speaking Belgian guide, comfortable hotels or guesthouses, breakfast in the Bravo Hotel and in the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, comfortable transport, taxi to and from the airport, Li river boat and bamboo rafts, private cormorant and fishing light show, electric open car in Yangshuo, (pretty expensive) tickets to Elephant Hill, Yangshuo Moon hill, Reed Flute Cave, Liu San Jie impression.

Not included : flight, food and drinks (breakfast is included the first three days)

Join the tour !

Click to send an email to bart@backtonature.org.cn

Do you like photography? Do you have a couple of days off? Come to Guilin ! We organize a photo tour for you in a blink. Costs depend on the type of lodging wanted and on the transport needed, but can usually be done for around 200 to 250 Euro a day (price for 2 persons).

Bottom: Fenglin and Bart. Xu Fenglin is a natural photography talent. She makes friends with people in a blink, and can help you shoot portraits of local people. Bart is from Belgium, but has been living in Guilin, China, since three years and focusses full-time on photo tours.

He`s a certified photographer but foremost, he`s a photo enthusiast. He`s of course very familiar with Guilin, the Li river, Yangshuo and the nearby Longji rice terraces.

End february 2011 there will also be a one-week special winter trip to Huangshan (the Yellow Mountain), the surrounding old villages, Jingdezhen (China`s main china production centre !) and to the scenic area around Wuyuan which will be bading in rapeseed flowers then. Interested ! Let us know !

You'll find my older pics in my photostacks and my more recent pics on my Flickr site !

Reference.

Contact: 0086/15878341151

Book a tour !

Click to send an email to bart@backtonature.org.cn