Yunnan Group Workshop
This is a small group workshop, run by me personally. The numbers are limited to five people only. The fee is $1500 USD per personal, including accommodation and transport, while in China. This includes minivans and two internal flights. A fixer and translator plus my personal tuition and critique.
Day 01 & 02 Explore Kunming, it famous traditional Chinese Streets. The amazing Flower & Bird Market. The street entertainment around The Green Lake each evening.
Day 03
You will be taken around Dali Old Town, then head of to the hills to visit farming villages, Gong and Lao Hei are well known in the area and you will be shown different farmers homes, their land and be welcome to photograph the locals as they work. For lunch you eat in a farmhouse restaurant, they will spread out a whole option of traditional food on the table for you to choose from. Most farmers around Dali Town are from the ethnic group known as Pai. Many still wear their traditional costumes as they work. The village centres normally have a thriving mid-day market to photograph. The village elders sit together and have fascinating faces and are totally open to being photographed. In the evening you head back to the guest house in Dali Old Town for photography critique.
Day 04
Today you head for a fishing community on the Dali Lake, here the local fisher-people use Cormorant Birds to fish with. The birds are tied to fishing boats, they then fly off to catch fish and bring their catches back to the boat for collection. You will ride in a boat following the events, great for photography and an amazing experience. For lunch you again eat with the locals, of course fresh fish is very popular in many of the dishes. Critique again takes place in the evening back at the guesthouse.
Day 05
Today you take a four wheel drive to visit a Yi Tribe Village, far up into the mountains in the centre of Yunnan Province. The journey takes around four hours but is well worth the time spent. The landscapes you drive through are simple stunning. Rice Paddy dotted mountains, ethnic hill-tribe people and villages dotted along the way. Your destination is the beautiful Yi Village called Wanopu set in the Nanjian mountain range. You will have plenty of time for photography. At night you get to stay with the locals in a Home-Stay environment. All your comfort arranged and again great company to chat too before heading off to sleep. You can chat with the locals with Gong acting as translator. A real insight into a world so very far apart from your own.
Day 06
In the morning you will be taken to watch the Yi at work in the fields, their farming methods little changed for centuries. Fantastic photography opportunities await, farmers using oxen as plough pullers. Hand harvesting methods, where the locals start at dawn and work to dusk. Mid afternoon you return to the guesthouse in Dali for a Tour Photography critique.
Day 07
Return to Kunming for a final critique and look round this most beautiful of cities.