Characteristic Photography Tour in Huangshan and Nanxun Water Town

A warm welcome from your private guide will be waiting for you at the exit of the airport/train station. The guide will take you to your private vehicle with the driver, and you will be transferred to your hotel for check-in assisted by the guide.

Your day begins with an hour's drive from your hotel to the Yellow Mountains Scenic Area. The beautiful scenery cannot be expressed in words, especially when seen during sunrise and sunset giving you opportunities to capture the spectacular scenes. Take the Yuping cable-car up to the mountains, and explore the Yuping Scenic Spots:

Greeting Guest Pine: This landmark has a history of more than 800 years. A side branch that protrudes out resembling a person’s arm welcoming guests from afar.
Celestial Capital Peak: It is the ideal place for a bird's eye view to capture the magnificent panorama of the Yellow Mountains. Surrounded by fog it is like a magical fairyland.
Lotus Peak: It is the first of the thirty-six peaks on the mountains. The protruding peak is surrounded by a cluster of smaller peaks, that form a shape resembling a lotus in its first bloom.

Greeting Guest Pine

100 Cloud Ladder: A steep stone path with more than 100 steps that is chiseled into the stone cliff. It is like descending into an abyss among the clouds and haze.
One-Line Sky: Walk through a very narrow stone passage sandwiched between two peaks, where the blue sky looks like a single line when you look up.
Turtle Fish Peak: it is one of the wonders of the mountains and is named after its shape like a turtle fish. A great photo spot to see the sea of mountains.
Fairy Walking Bridge: The arched bridge connects two rocks at an altitude of 1320 above sea level. A great place to photograph the magnificence and ethereal clouds of mountains.
Note: Celestial Capital Peak and Lotus Peak have opened to the public alternately, with a cycle of 5 years.

100 Cloud Ladder

Stay overnight at Baiyun Hotel

Early morning, you will climb up to Bright Top to capture the sunrise. Afterward, you will head back to the hotel and check-out. For the rest of the day, you will explore more of the mountains with their unique rock formation, caves, and a pathway built along the cliff. A day of adventure filled with mystery.
Bright Top: The second highest peak of the Yellow Mountains, it is located in the center, dividing the mountains into the front and back. Enjoy a panoramic view of the majestic peaks on the flat-top.

Grand Sea West Canyon (closed from 1st Dec to 31st Mar for annual routine maintenance): It is also known as "the Devil's World", a virgin land on the mountains. A popular place for many avid adventurers and photographers. Take the popular cable-car down to the bottom of the valley, and begin to hike to the 2nd ring and 1st ring. This route demands a certain physical strength to complete.

Stay overnight at Xihai Hotel

Weather permitting, you may have an opportunity to photograph the morning light at the point of Dawn Pavilion. Spend the day exploring this section of the mountains with its tall peaks, the stones, the platforms, the pines, the clouds, forming a natural picturesque background.

Lion Peak: Like a lion lying on the top of a pine forest, Dawn Pavilion is located at its tail while Refreshing Terrace is at the waist. It is also the optimum place to view the famous Stone Monkey Watching the Sea.
Refreshing Terrace: The platform is square and flat, protruding on a critical rock with three-free surfaces. It is known as the scenery window of the Beihai Scenic Area and the vantage point for watching the sea of clouds.

Stone Monkey Watching the Sea: A monkey-shaped stone stands alone at the top of the mountain, watching the sea of clouds rise and fall. When the clouds dissipate, Taiping County at the foot of the mountain appears to its vision.
Black Tiger Pine: it is one of the top ten pine trees on the mountains and is listed in the World Heritage. It is estimated to have been growing for more than 700 years. This ancient pine has a crown in dark green and almost black in- color; like a black tiger lying under the slope.
Beginning - to - Believe Peak: Known in Chinese as “Shixin Peak”, legend has it that in the Ming Dynasty, Huang Xiyuan traveled to this peak from Yungu Temple. It seemed that he entered a surreal painting scene where you can marvel at the scenery.

Stay overnight at Xihai Hotel

Stone Monkey Watching the Sea

Check out your hotel and continue on your photography journey, keeping your dreams alive and storing them in the memory card of your camera.
Flying-Over Rock: One of the famous wonders of the mountains. A huge granite stands on the peak-head bedrock platform, 12 meters high and more than 500 tons, leaning at a precarious angle.
Cloud-Dispelling Pavilion: Gives you breath-taking views that have inspired hundreds of poets and painters. The sea of clouds engulfs the forest of peaks like waves, making this spot a magical place to capture each moment with your lens.
The Flower Grown out of A Writing Brush Rock: An ancient pine growing on the peak point, that resembles a blooming flower growing at its tip.

The Flower Grown out of A Writing Brush Rock

Take the Yungu cable car down from the mountain, and then you embark on an hour's journey to Yi County. The rest of the day is free at your leisure.

Today you will find some inspirations from the “freehand ink” painting village. Different beauties in every perspective.
Hongcun Ancient Village is a popular destination not only for painters but also for photographers. The lake, with the backdrops of the white walls, stone bridges, grey tiled roofs gives photographers an impression of what goes on the canvases of Chinese painters. Enjoy a stroll on the cobblestone paths through this quaint village.

Mukeng Bamboo Forest is about 5.6 kilometers east of Hongcun Ancient Village. The lush bamboo trees cover the mountains, surrounding a valley. A spot not frequented by many visitors is a peaceful and quiet place to shoot. Ang Lee’s Oscar film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon scene with the bamboo sea-fight was shot there.

Continue to the northwest of the forest, you will arrive at Tachuan Village. A popular place for many painters and photographers to visit during autumn (October and November), where the leaves of the Chinese tallow tree turn red, forming a charming picture of idyllic scenery.

Tachuan Village in Autumn

Transfer you back to Huangshan city.

In the morning, you will take a 1.5-hour train journey to Hangzhou city, a city steep in history and folk-legend.

After a rest, you will spend half-day visiting West Lake. The element of culture and legendary stories will give meaning to your photos.

The Broken Bridge: This stone-arched bridge is one of the famous of all providing spectacular views of the West Lake.
Leifeng Pagoda: Originally built in 975AD, this five-story tower with eight sides sits on Sunset Hill, south of the West Lake. The pagoda looks stunning when surrounded by the golden hues of the setting sun.
Su Causeway: The tree-lined causeway runs through the north and south area of West Lake. One of the 10-scenic sites of West Lake.
Three Pools Mirroring the Moon: The biggest island of West Lake, three stone towers are standing on the south lake. The light through the holes of each tower represents a moon reflecting in the lake. Its image can be found on the back of the one-yuan note.

The Broken Bridge

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon

Among the numerous ancient water towns, we have selected Nanxun Water Town due to its features that typically represent the style of southern water towns, with a blend of Chinese and western architecture. This charming well-preserved town is a great place to enjoy this authentic and tranquil setting for you to take photos. This place is popular for wedding shoots, and you may come across couples getting these shots creating memories for their new journey in life.

Little Lotus Garden: It is one of the features in the town, built by three generations of the Liu Yong family. It is surrounded by clear creeks and green woods. A special feature of the garden is the lotus pools covering 10 acres with verandas of Chinese style and spire towers of western style on the bank.
Zhang Shiming’s Former Residence: This is one of the few residences remaining that retains their original appearance. Inside there is a mix of western rooms and Confucian family altars.

Little Lotus Garden

Zhang Shiming’s Former Residence

Liu's Family Compound (Chongde House): Built by one of the four richest families in town. The red-brick home features a classical entrance with the central part of the building showcasing traditional Confucian culture, with a mix of Western European Romanesque architecture in the southern and northern parts.
Baijianlou: A cluster of 100 old residential buildings alongside the canal stretching 400 meters. Experience and capture the way of life of the locals still living there.

Your water town tour ends here and you will be taken back to Hangzhou.

Sadly, your photography tour ends. We hope that you have captured and made many memories of your visit with us.