Shangri La Moonlight

For the last decade, my wife and I lived in China, mostly in the SW in Yunnan Province, but also Lhasa in Tibet. Most of my Photography from that time is night images of the Himalaya.

Shangri-La was a made up place by an English author James Hilton, who never actually made it to Tibet. But it is believed the name was a miss-hearing of the Tibetan Shambhala. In recent times, many Chinese locations have cashed in on the name, with the small Yunnan town of Zhongdian officially changing its name.

This shot is of Yading National Park in Sichuan Province. 300 miles from our old home in Yunnan, and a 14 hour drive on some "entertaining" roads. We visited the park many times over the years, although I am sorry to report that after the "improvements" of 2008-9 much of its joy to photographers has been spoiled. Wooden walk ways now crisscross the valleys, skirting the rivers and genrally getting in the way of the incredible views. It is a much easier place to get around, but has lost a lot of its former charm - all in the name of progress.

Still, it was fun being up there at night, at around 4000m. Driving up from our home at 2400m in a day always meant slight effects of altitude, giving the experience a slightly weird sensation. Climbing up through the thick forest in the dark, a little breathless.

Of course, since my wife and I moved to northern Spain in January (culture shock!) - we look back on these times as fond memories.

D700 24-70 - single exposure, lots of moon! Taken in November, the trees have lost their color, but the grass is still vibrant.