Mountains draped in greenery, karst limestone gorges and canyons, colorful festivals, pastoral villages, terraced rice fields, friendly people and bustling city street scenes – Guizhou province in China is a visual treat for photographers.

In the Spring of 2018, Evelyn and I were invited by the Guizhou Tourism Development Commission to join a group of Canadian photographers exploring this area of southwest China.  Guizhou is home to many ethic groups and we visited several villages of the Miao and Dong people. Spring and Fall are festival times in the villages. One of our photographic highlights was the Sisters’ Meal Festival when people don silver-laden traditional clothes, and which includes everything from musical performances, to food stalls, to bull fights.

Our group consisted of two-dozen photographers from Canada.  After a week of making photographs we had a huge collection of striking images.  Overnight the tour organizers pulled together an exhibit of 115 custom enlargements all beautifully mounted and framed.  The opening reception of the exhibit “Picture of Guizhou – What Canadian People See”, which brought together Canadian and Chinese photographers, officials and sponsors, and the media, was staged with spectacular imagination and warm hospitality.

After the official tour several from our group went to another part of Guizhou to see Huangguoshu Falls which is the largest waterfall in China. Some of our photographers hired a car and driver so they could explore more of the remote villages of Guizhou.  Several boarded a high-speed train to Yunnan province where they were hosted to a stay at a tranquil resort run by a famous Chinese poet.

Photographers looking for a picturesque destination that is in the early stages of being “discovered” by other photographers and travellers would do well to consider Guizhou province in China.

posted by Ted Nodwell

Locations visited include: Jiabang terraced rice fields; Qingxi Gorge; Wuyang River cruise; Shuanghe Cave National Geopark; cities of Guiyang and Kaili; villages of  Zhaoxing, Basha, Yintan, Datang, Taijiang, Matang Gejia; and Shuanglong Ancient Town.