VesiPenkova

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

China | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 5 photos

Hello,
My name is Vesselka Penkova and I am from Bulgaria, but presently I live and work in Italy.
I am sending five pictures from my travelling in China last summer. It has been my two days trip to visit Longji Rice terraces of Guangxi province in South China. The place is distinct and hard to get to, but definitely it worth seeing. The magnificent view of the rice terraces spread over the hill slopes discovers unique scenery. In that region live Red Yao people – they are very nice, hospitable and sunny people having lovely songs, interesting dances and splendid traditional customs.
One of my most challenging events was in the morning, just few minutes after the sun raised, when I decided to turn aside from the tourist itinerary and take a short walk along the paths leading into the rice terraces used by the local peasants. The sun shine had softly covered the rice plants in a very tender but joyful way, thousands of dew-drops have been sparkling like crystal balls and it was so quiet that I could hear my own steps. I was blindly captured in photo-shooting without noticing I have got lost into the rice. Luckily I saw a woman harvesting maze and she was kind enough to show me the true direction on my way back. I felt relieved only after I got back from that mindless walk as from the stories read and documentaries I watched home I remembered that actually the rice could be inhabited by dangerous animals and reptiles. Luckily or not I had not the chance to meet them but I made some nice photos and I still keep the silence in my years, the crystals with the sun shine in my eyes and the tender voice of the woman smiling and her gestures to show the way to an unknown tourist with all her hospitality and care.