(1/250 sec, f/4.8, Canon 70-200mm at 200mm, no flash, ISO 400)

As a short excursion on one of our last days in the Guanxi town of Yangshuo, we decided to visit the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces in Longsheng. Several nights before, out of money due to a collusion of circumstances and having had no success buying currency from the local bank in the tiny village using my credit card, i had found myself sitting on the floor of our hostel's lobby at three in the morning, a telephone receiver to my ear and its wire wrapped around my arm as I tried to reach a human being at either Bank of America or MasterCard for some emergency cash while it was light on the other side of the world (no success by the way - the beauracracy at some of these allegedly customer-service oriented companies was astoundingly stubborn and lumbering: while we found a few people who sounded genuinely interested in our plight, the corporate drive to "cover their ass" was more than a match for any humanity I encountered)...

While my girlfriend dozed off on a wicker chair in front of a floor fan with a bunch of phone cards next to her and the droning "hold music" nearly did away with my own consciousness, my eyes fell upon a famous Chinese photographer's collection of photographs of the rice terraces on the hostel desk. Immobile, and with my only two choices being to allow the Muzak to slowly drive me towards a burning inner rage or to lose myself in the images, I looked through the book. It wasn't long before the breathtaking images convinced us to go see the terraces for ourselves.

The construction of the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces - now considered one of China's most impressive engineering achievements - began in the thirteenth century under the Yuan Dynasty and continued until the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when construction was completed. They cover sixty-six square kilometers (over 16,300 acres), and stand as an impressive monument to the industry of the local Zhuang people. Today, the terraces are still in use and must contribute to a huge portion of the area's rice production. It's a vertigo-inducing, hairpin turn-filled bus ride up the mountain and a sweltering climb to the top, but it's worth it.

(1/60 sec, f/20, Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, no flash, ISO 400)

They are absolutely beautiful. Green ribbons, almost like waves, rush down the mountainside, coiling around hills and snaking about in gentle curves all the way down to the bottom. While I would have loved to see it in the spring, when water irrigated into the yet-riceless fields sparkles like liquid gold or mercury poured into thousands and thousands of steps, the deep greens and blues of late summer painted a vibrant picture.

(1/250 sec, f/16, Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, no flash, ISO 800)

Besides the Zhuang people that make up a dominant portion of the local population, there are also many from the Yao, Miao, and Dong minorities calling the area home. Plenty of chances for some nice photographs - I got this picture of a young girl jumping into the stream cutting through the town as her friends played in the water.

(1/1250 sec, f/5.6, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 400)

The town itself didn't seem interesting enough to keep us overnight, but it all worked out. The next morning was our last day in Yangshuo, and I woke up early enough to capture a Li River sunrise from the roof of our hostel:

(1/25 sec, f/22, Sigma 10-20mm at 20mm, no flash, ISO 100)

(1/20 sec, f/22, Sigma 10-20mm at 20mm (crop), no flash, ISO 200)

DRAGON'S BACKBONE RICE TERRACES/LONGSHENG PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL TIPS

- There is a daily tour bus from Yangshuo to Ping An, the main village near the terraces, leaving every morning at 7:30am and taking about 3 hours to arrive. It can be booked from any local agency, hostel, or hotel at Yangshuo.

- Unless you've got a lot of time to kill - stay in Yangshuo and take the bus for a daytrip to the terraces. Beyond the breathtaking vistas, there's not much to keep you interested, and Ping An has become very touristic. The only exception would be if you want to try and capture a sunrise or sunset view - then stay at one of the hostels at the top of the Ping An terraces.

- An ND grad filter will be very useful for keeping detail in the skies while shooting the terraces in sunny days. If you're making the trip, consider investing in one before you go. A wide-angle lens is also a must - it emphasizes the gradient of the terraced valleys and does very dramatic things to skies and clouds. Shooting the finely detail scene is a delicate balance, though. Go too wide and you'll begin to lose all the intricate details that make the steps and terraces so beautiful.

- All along Ping An and the climb to the top you'll be confronted by Red Yao women who will either try to sell you wares or charge you to take pictures of their world-famous long hair. They can be extremely persistent and follow you a surprising distance up the climb. Unless you want to photograph them, don't show any interest or they'll never leave you alone - but be respectful - understand that tourism has become an industry in this town and they are just trying to make a living. I saw a number of people rudely brush them aside or embarass them.