Photo Tour to the most spectacular Landscapes of Yunnan. Visit the Donchuan Red Earh . Red Soil areas, the rape flower blooming in the midst of spectacular limestone peaks in Luoping and finally the Honghe Hani Yuanyang Rice Terraces.

Yunnan is one of China's most interesting and diverese travel areas. The climatic zones range from extreme Mountains to subtropical rain forests and over half of China's ethnic minorities call it their home. This tour is especially designed for landscape photographers and we show you Yunnan's most spectacular landscapes. Following are the key features:

About the tour:

This tour targest mainly landscape photographers and is ideal for enthusiasts and pros alike. With the Dongchuan Redlands, the Rape Flower blooming in Luoping and the Yuanyang Rice Terraces, the tour has been tailored around the Rape flower blooming, as this only happens once a year in a tight 3 week time window. However, the time is also perfect for the Yuanyang Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, as the rice paddies are full of water and the reflections offer the best possible shots. Fort he Dongchuan Red Earth or Red Soil area it’s not the best time of the year, however, also there spectacular shots will be possible. During the trip we lodge in the best possible hotels / guest houses but especially the accommodation in Dongchuan is fairly basic. The number of participants is minimum 4, maximum 8 people in order to keep the group small and have a maximum of flexibility. The tour is jointly organized with Tibetmoto Impression about Dongchuan Red Soil you can find here (currently only in German)
Impressions about Luoping Rape flower blooming you can find here (currently only in German)
Impression of the Honghe Hani Yuanyang Rice Terraces you can find here (currently only in German)

Guides:

The tour is guided by Christoph Mueller, founder of Hiddenchina.net. He has been living for over 12 years in China, the last two of them in Kunming. He traveled extensively all over China and of course visited the three areas and checked out the best possible photo spots and also some “secret” locations where less other photographers are to be found. Christoph is a photo enthusiast himself and put special emphasis when scouting the locations. Additionally there will be one of our local Chinese tour guides accompanying the tour, which means each car will have apart from the driver also one guide onboard

Transport:

We will use 8 seater Mini bus, which offers each participants two seats that you can comfortably place your phot gear next to you. During the drives we always try to establish a WIFI in the car wherever possible. Although it wont be enough for large down or uploads, you will be able to surf on the web and check / emails.

Equipment:

We recommend comfortable travel clothes and outdoor shoes. In February the weather is usually stable but occasional precipitation can occur. Temperatures are during the day between 10 and 20 C and during the night at Yuanyang it can drop in extremis to around 0 C As the main focus of the trip is landscape photography, wide angle lenses are an important tool. However, occasionally there will be chances for portrait and shoot local minority people, so a good portrait lens should be in the bag as well as tele. A tripod is a must for the sunset and sunrise shoots and if you are into time-lapse, better take two tripods along. Also don’t forget enough adapters to recharge all your gear. In China round two pole plugs can be used (as frequently used in Switzerland). If you are thinking about purchasing gear, you may contact me, as there is plenty of Chinese manufactured 3rd party gear which is a lot cheaper than in Western countries (speak batteries, battery grips and alike).

Food:

: Since we visit mostly rural areas our food will be local Chinese and that also includes breakfast. So forget about Jam, Toast, Ham and eggs and think more noodle soups, Chinese steamed bread and tea. The only Western breakfast will be in Kunming and at the Fuxian Lake although we may get a half decent coffee in Yuanyang.