Discovering Southern China

For years I’ve been captivated by images of China’s dramatic landscapes and nature. So, when opportunity knocked David and I set out on a #brothersberger adventure into Shanghai with plans to wrap up with a final few days and flight home from Hanoi in Vietnam in February 2018.

We weren’t prepared for the cold weather, or for the dramatic impact the weeks before Tet (Chinese New Year) would have on our ease of travel. But, with no concrete plan and just a flexible list of places we were eager to see – we set off.

The trip took us to places well known in China but far less frequented by European and American tourists. Despite a brutal cold spell that left us warming our beds with water bottles filled with hot water from the hotel’s tea kettle and hearty language barriers – we discovered some of China’s most spectacular natural locations.

In this video, join me as I take you through a few snapshots of Shanghai, the nearby Zhujiajiao Water Town and then down to Tianmen Mountain – home of the famed Gate of Heaven, Zhangjiajie National Park which is more commonly known as the Avatar Mountains, and then to the province of Guanxi for the over-touristed Guilin, Lee River, and Yangshuo before ending our trip at the Detian Waterfalls.

Filmed on a Sony a7rii and iPhone 7. Edited in Davinci Resolve.