amazing old village

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

China | Saturday, September 18, 2010 | 5 photos

Returning on our 2hours journey back to Chengdu from the Panda research center at Bifenxia, we pass an old village called ShangLi, we stop and walk the old streets and riverbanks. This town was near the beginning of the old tea horse road when China traded tea for horses with Tibet.
It is early morning, the sun is warm and not strong, the village seems to float in a sea of mist. The local people are washing clothes and preparing vegetables in the river that winds around the village. It is hard to stop photographing the village scenes and reflections on the river. I catch the moment when an old lady crosses the river on small stone steps near a large bamboo waterwheel, and two men taking tea near the window of a riverside house.
Walking along the riverbank, I find some art school students doing their Chinese painting of an old stone bridge and it’s reflection in the water, this is one of my favourite shots of the village. It was an amazing and magical place that will always bring back fond memories.