Amaxing Colors of Dongchuan: Mesmerizing Landscape

#asiatrip An amazing natural landmark of China, the red lands of Dongchuan are a large area near the city of Xintian, which is located in the Huagou Valley 180 kilometers northeast of the capital of Yunnan Province, Kunming. This picturesque mountainous area is a real "Mecca" for photographers who want to capture its amazing landscapes. The bright red earth, yellow buckwheat flowers and breathtaking sky have turned this region, rivaling another similar Chinese landmark Zhangye Danxia, into a real paradise for hunters of a beautiful picture. The area of colorful fields was nicknamed Losyagou (translated from Chinese – "Multicolored palette"). Yunnan Province is located in a warm and humid climatic zone in southwestern China. The land here is enriched with iron compounds, and therefore in some places, as a result of oxidation and precipitation, as well as agricultural activities, the soils acquire an unusual red-brown color. The blue sky, white clouds and constantly changing shades of red soils create incomparable landscapes. Every year, between September and December, the red soils are plowed, preparing them for sowing. The most common agricultural crops are grown on the red earth – potatoes, oats and corn. Certain plots of land are allocated to each family in the villages. The size and shape of each plot are unique, farmers sow fields with different crops, so from a distance the land looks like a huge multicolored patchwork quilt. Blooming meadows, green mountain slopes, and golden wheat fields are added to these colors. Anyone arriving in Dongchuan is advised to get up early and return later to catch the sunrise and sunset. The scenery is especially interesting during these hours. Dongchuan is a place of pilgrimage for photographers, so information about the best places and times to shoot will be very useful. One of the best places to shoot is Losyagou, a ridge with steep mountains on both sides. A village is located right on one of the high slopes. There are wide fields around the village. When these fields are plowed, peasants walk through them with a plow in accordance with their uneven terrain, and from that a bizarre pattern is formed on the slopes of the mountains. The landscape here changes depending on the wind, clouds, sunlight and many other factors. The first rays of the sun beautifully color Huagou and the village located in it. The villagers wake up at dawn, smoke from the furnaces covers the valley – it's useless to take it off. The next best time to shoot is after lunch, when the sun's rays give a softer light, coloring the earth in wonderful shades.