China: The beginning of my landscape photography journey

Introduction

When I look at China, I use to picture the Great Wall. Photographing it never interest me much. Just old bricks stretching into distance.

That changed when I visit China in May 2024.

On this trip, I traveled through four regions, each with its own rhythm and atmosphere. From historic cities with quiet rives to beautiful landscapes. This experience change my perspective of China.

In this post, I will walk you through each regions, explaining what to look out for when shooting, and share how I approach editing the images afterwards.

Camera Gear

These are the camera gear I used

• Camera Gear – Sony A7CII
• Camera Lens Kit
  • FE PZ 16-35 F4 G -This is what I used most of the time
  • FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM
  • FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS
• Tripod – Manfrotto Compact Action Tripod with Joy Stick Head TR-MA-CO-AC – Sturdier tripod is recommended
• Filter – H&Y Revo Ring Series Magnetic Filter Set VND 3 – 1000 +CPL – A higher quality ND-Filter with less X-Crossing would be preferable.

The Ancient Town: Feng Huang

Feng Huang is a town where amazing photos can be taken throughout the entire day.

During the day, the old looking infrastructures give out vintage atmosphere. At night, artificial lights take over, turning the town energetic and theatrical.

Photography Tips

A Tripod and ND-Filter is essential here. The streets are crowded, long exposures help reduce people while smoothing the water surface.

I personally would recommend a 10-stop ND filter during evenings. With the place being crowded, long exposure shots of over a minute is needed. insufficient filtration will result in overexposed photos which makes it unable to edit.

Early morning offer still water and clean reflections. These scenes feel calm. Ancient but unhurried.

Throughout the day, focus on structure. The reflection may not be clear due to the water ripples, but it still tells a great story. Look for quieter corners where the water settles. With ancient town vibes, you should be able to compose photos such that it communicate lifestyles.

As the sun lowers, side and back lighting becomes valuable. Boats and buildings enhances intentional story telling while keeping the photo clean.

Just before night fully arrives, artificial lights turn on while the sky remains bright. This brief overlap offers the cleanest balance between ambient light and color.

When the skies darkens, the artificial lights are fully lit. This gives out a modernize city vibes filled with energy.

Another thing to look out for is the dam. Long exposure shots make the water feel smooth while moving at high speed

Photo Editing Process

Daytime images benefit from careful adjustments to clarity, texture, and contrast. Push too far and the image becomes dirty; hold back and the buildings lose presence.

Night images require more restraint. Saturated RGB lighting is common and easily distracts the subject from being seen. Reduce unnecessary colors and limit saturation so light supports the composition instead of overpowering it.

The Magical Waterfall Village: Furong

Furong is one of the rare places where the village reveals itself all at once. The vibrant buildings surrounding the waterfall makes the view more immersive.

The strength lies in contrast between trees and illuminated buildings. Trees soften the frame, while artificial lights make the village brighter.

Photography Tips

This location works best from early evening to night. Aim for the moment when village lights are on but the sky still holds color. That overlap creates the strongest contrast between trees, water, and buildings. This is demonstrated in Example 8.

A tripod and ND-Filter is essential. Long exposures smooth the waterfall while reducing the visibility go people moving through frame.

Night shots is possible, however, you lose the color of the trees as shown in Example 9.

In addition to wide village views, focus on some close up shots near the waterfall itself. Close up compositions offer a different mood. More calm and quiet.

Other viewpoints around the village also photograph well at night. As with the main scene, long exposure helps simplify busy areas and keeps attention on structure rather than crowds.

Photo Editing Process

As with Feng Huang, city lights can quickly become oversaturated. Reduce saturation so the lights blend naturally with the surrounding environment. Remove strong RGB colors when possible — they are distractions.

Wide cityscape views often contain blown highlights. These areas are difficult to edit cleanly. Overcorrecting luminosity or saturation usually makes the image look artificial.

Some imperfections are unavoidable. Accepting them often produces a more believable image than forcing balance where none exists.

The Heavens Gate Mountain: Tian Men Zhan

Tian Men Zhan marks a clear shift from townscapes to landscapes.

While the heavens gate itself serves as a recognizable checkpoint photo, the real strength if the area lies in its mountains and winding roadways. The walkways stretch for hours, more like a vast park than a single viewpoint.

Photography Tips

Most scenes work well as a single shot. The exception is the Heaven’s Gate, which is consistently crowded. Long exposure helps simplify the scene by removing people.

The best light appears from afternoon to early evening. Golden hour isn’t essential but it is recommended.

Access to Tian Men Zhan is only possible through a cable car. Keep your camera on continuous shutter ready during the ride. You find the best views appear briefly without warning like examples 12 and 13. You only have one chance to take this shot. Missed the moment, and you missed the shot. Returning means hours of waiting.

Once you’ve arrive, you find the heaven’s gate itself. As the entire place is crowded, use long exposure shots to remove people. This can also be done through editing. However, it could take long hours to remove them.

Around the same area, you can find astonishing landscape views composed with mountains and road ways. Roads carve through the terrain, creating natural leading lines. Single shots are sufficient here. Although, if you want to aim for golden hour, then long exposure shots is also great to make the skies cleaner.

As you venture your way through the endless garden in Tian Men Zhan, watch for pathways framed by green hills. This gives out a quieter view.

With telephoto lens, isolate a single road. Take the shot as a single car moves through the path. That moment tells the story better than traffic ever could. An example is given below. Wide angle lens is still usable. But this result in unclear vehicle as shown.

Night long exposure shots are definitely possible for car light trails. But timing is tight. The area closes at 7pm. So scout for locations beforehand. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain those shots as I was too slow.

Photo Editing Process

Editing should reinforce natural light. Warm tones work well when aligned with the sun’s direction.

Avoid desaturating the entire image. Flat color drains energy. Instead, guide attention by reducing saturation selectively. Make green areas more vibrant and the photo becomes more lively. A high understanding of the light direction is required here.

The Avatar-Inspired Mountain: Zhang Jia Jie National Forest Park

Zhang Jia Jie is defined by its sand stone pillars that inspired by floating mountains in Avatar. Its beauty lies in pillars covered in green surroundings. When fog rolls in, the landscape becomes abstract and layered.

Photography Tips

Approach this area as a landscape, not a collection of objects. Decide which pillar will anchor the frame.

In example 19, the small pencil shaped stone pillar is use as the main subject. Its shape distinguished itself from other pillars. Other pillars acts as a frame. They direct your attention towards the subject.

Moving closer removes the frame but clarifies the subject. Both approaches work — the choice depends on whether structure or isolation matters more.

You also find some pillars with trees grow on it. By focusing on this element, you get a unique perspective.

Photo Editing Tips

Emphasizing the subject requires careful light control. Apply warm tone to demonstrate afternoon light. Add highlighted shade to separate the subject from its surroundings. This requires more understanding of light positioning than in Tian Men Zhan.

Editing the pencil pillar is harder. With its position, the front pillar stand out more. To fix this first, I need to increase clarity and exposure by a lot to emphasize the pencil pillar itself. Then, by adding shade of light directly above, the pencil pillar stands out even more. Finally, make the front pillars darker reducing its attention. With this, the attention is directed to the pencil pillar itself.

Editing here requires more complex techniques and precision.

Tips for traveling to China

If you’re planning to visit China, there are a details you should know in advance

Cash is rarely used in China. They use Alipay and Credit Cards. Setting up these before arrival will save time and frustration.

English is not commonly spoken in many regions. In the areas I visited, Mandarin is the primary language. Traveling with someone fluent in Mandarin, or having reliable translation tools, makes daily interactions significantly easier.

Across these four regions, you find out that the foods are exactly the same in every restaurant. Most of which are also oily. If food is your concern, it is better to stay for a short duration.

Conclusion

Before this trip, China was a place I thought I already understood. I imagined landmarks, crowds, and familiar images repeated endlessly. Traveling through these regions changed that view.

Each location demanded a different way of seeing. Ancient towns required patience and restraint. Mountains asked for scale and structure. Landscapes rewarded waiting more than movement. What mattered most wasn’t the gear or the locations themselves, but learning when to simplify and when to step back.

Photography here taught me to slow down. To accept imperfections. To work with light instead of forcing it. Some scenes resisted control, and those images often felt the most honest.

China is vast and layered. It doesn’t reveal itself all at once — and neither do its photographs. The best images came not from chasing moments, but from staying still long enough to let them arrive.

As I traveled through different parts of China, I found myself drawn more deeply into landscape photography. The challenge wasn’t just timing or composition, but learning to stay with a scene long enough to appreciate it.

More than the photographs themselves, it was the act of looking that stayed with me. Standing still, observing light, and appreciating what was already there became restorative in a way I hadn’t expected.

Since then, I’ve taken landscape photography more seriously. I continue exploring new places, both in Thailand and beyond. Each location offers something different, and learning how to see it has become as meaningful as capturing it.

Disclosures

AI tools were used to assist with outlining, clarification, and editing suggestions.
All ideas, interpretations, and final writing decisions are my own.