A few years ago when we decided to say farewell to the corporate world and start our photography business, we spent a good few months traveling through South-East Asia clearing our heads, taking a break and doing what we love most – capturing the beauty of what we’re seeing and experiencing. We’d been to China many times before but never to this magical region in Hunan, which has always been on our must-visit list. Both UNESCO-protected heritage sites, we spent a few days in ZhangJiaJie national park (famous for being the location where James Cameron and his crew filmed the super-production Avatar back in 2009) and FengHuang, the Ancient City of the Phoenix (one of the most beautiful sites in China where time stood still and picturesque houses on stilts reign over the river). We were so hooked that we immediately decided we’d have to share this with our friends and customers and that’s how our first photography holiday product was born (read all about it here)

We started in ZhangJiaJie where its Avatar connections are cherished – the Chinese even renamed one of its famous peaks ‘Hallelujah mountain’ after its Avatar name. First impressions were really breathtaking, from the spectacular views that really have no comparison to anything you will have experienced before, to the super clean crisp air, one of the cleanest in the world – in stark contrast with whatever intoxicating smog image that thinking of some of the big China cities may conjure in your head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed local and lived local for our few days, and it is the way we always want to do things – why travel otherwise? Our homely family-run accommodation was within walking distance to one of the park entrances and afforded us spectacular views of the mountains from the comfort of our balcony, delicious home-cooked breakfasts and dinners by the old man of the family who seemed to be in charge of the kitchen (and did a fantastic job – Gordon Ramsey would have approved), all this with all comforts of modern travel, an ensuite bathroom and even a hot and cold air conditioning unit in our room! The 100-years old grandma living on site was an inspiration and with her permission a lovely photogenic subject too! And although we didn’t partake in the local snake-wine, it added to the charm and of course we had to take a photo of it too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our first morning up the mountain sharing a cable car cabin with the local ‘commuters’ was a glorious experience: lively women and men heading up to set up ‘shop’ before the tourists arrive (our super-excited and slightly jetlagged selves had a ridiculous early start and were way ahead of everyone else). We soon realised in this part of the world we were far more an exotic sight for them as they were for us (there are only a handful of Caucasian faces to be seen around there). Everything is a new experience and of course, we document it: park entrance is free if you’re short (of course, it is meant for children, and what a nice simple rule); if you’re really tired there will be plenty of litter vehicles to carry you up and down the mountain (we really felt sorry for these guys, but they didn’t seem to mind – guess it saves them the gym fees – and they seemed to use their vehicles to take plenty of breaks and naps) and – for whatever reason, if you’re cold, or you need to keep the sun off your head, a nice tote bag is always handy (and yes she spotted me right as I was taking the picture!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, the views from the top are spectacular, and what’s great is the pathways are good with paved alleyways and stone steps and the walk not too onerous, you can go at pace and do as much or as little as you want. The heights are not for the faint-hearted if you decide to venture across the glass bridge (we didn’t!) or look down from one of the many viewing ridges and platforms. What’s great is you don’t need to be adventurous to see these amazing sites, and even people who are fairly uncomfortable with heights as we are can get a tremendous experience, as you are literally surrounded by amazing views all around you.

 

 

 

 

 

You can read more about ZhangJiaJie and see more images on our China holiday page here, but for now we are moving onto our second location for this China trip which is the ancient city of the Phoenix (FengHuang). The Chinese consider the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yang and yin metaphor.

Everything in this perfectly preserved oasis of Chinese ancient culture of FengHuang is filled with symbols and reminders of ancient civilisations and habits. At the same time, as with ZhangJiaJie, all mod cons provide for a comfortable stay and again we choose somewhere within the ancient city walls and within walking distance of all the sites alongside the river. After the bus ride from ZhangJiaJie it is hard to believe that after the many dusty concrete jungles we pass, this place is here and it couldn’t be any more different.

  

 

 

 

 

 

The city is beautiful in the daylight but really comes to live at night, another unexpected surprise to see everything illuminated so spectacularly, but tastefully too. A true show which obviously also affords many night photography opportunities. This is one of the famous bridges crossing the river, during day time and at night, taken on the same day during our first trip.

 

 

 

 

 

FengHuang is the perfect place to explore on foot, and make regular stops to sit down, relax and watch the world go by. The many cafes, bars and restaurants dotted along the river, almost inconspicuously hosted in the signature houses on stilts await – as coffee lovers (aka addicts) we were delighted the coffee culture is very much alive in this part of China. There are dozens of street food options, markets, stalls and many historic places to visit and of course take photos of! Just beware, although these places in Hunan are very accessible and friendly for any traveler, you will struggle to find any English on road signs, menus in restaurants or hotels. With Matt’s limited Mandarin we got by just fine on our first trip, and we decided we would have a full-time local guide with us on our photography tours so everyone coming along with us would benefit from round the clock translations, whatever they require (see what we include in our tour here).

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can’t wait to be back later this year. Our first time was in March and it was a little to cold for our taste, therefore we’ve planned our tour for May this time round. We left our heart in Hunan and will be going back for it (ok, we confess – along with other thousand tourists, we too bought the engraved padlock in ZhangJiaJie!). We also occasionally take selfies on our iPhones as you can see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Come with us?! We’d love to share our experience with any photography and travel enthusiast who loves the idea of joining us and a small group of like-minded people in these two locations. We still have a couple of places left for this year and plenty for next year, plus we are doing a special offer for the Photography Show at the NEC (contact us for details). Here is where to find all info about our China 2018 tour.

Xie-xie-ni (thank you) for reading!

Andreea & Matt