Day 1 Worldwide → Zhengzhou ★ Zhengzhou Meeting Day
All day
Tourists from all over the world will meet in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, by plane or train, and then check into their hotel. (Check-in is available after 2:00 PM at the meeting hotel in Zhengzhou.) Early arrivals can leave their luggage at the hotel front desk and arrange their own sightseeing in downtown Zhengzhou. Recommended attractions include the Henan Provincial Museum, the Erqi Memorial Tower, the entrance to the Yellow River's Huayuankou, and the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, and sample Zhengzhou's local delicacies (such as Henan braised noodles and Daokou roast chicken). Please be safe during free time. The tour leader will call everyone to meet in the evening, distribute supplies, and announce the departure time the following morning.
Day 2 Zhengzhou → Jindeng Temple → Zhangjiaao Village
All day
After breakfast, depart from Zhengzhou and head to Linzhou.
Drive along the Huahu Highway to Golden Lamp Temple, a lost secret and uniquely unique place! Golden Lamp Temple is truly a paradise in the Taihang Mountains, with its crisscrossing peaks, winding curves, steep cliffs, and perilous terrain. The scenery is magnificent, the roads meander, and the ancient Golden Lamp Temple, nestled in the mountainside and carved into the cliff face, is breathtaking.
After the shooting, we set off for Zhangjiaao Village, which is known as the ancient village of sea of clouds in Taihang. The excellent geographical location has created the unique Taihang landforms and frequent sea of clouds landscapes here!
Everyone can move freely in the evening and create freely around.
Day 3 Zhangjiaao → Da'an Village → Louzitou Village → Taihang Pinghu → Shibanyan Town
All day
Get up early to take pictures of the canyon wonders of Zhangjiaao Village and the sunrise over the sea of clouds. This is also a great place to overlook the Taihang Sky Road and take aerial photos of the magnificent Taihang Mountains!
After breakfast, we'll head to a high-altitude administrative village in the Taihang Mountains to experience a ride in the clouds. This little-known village, we'll ascend along the winding mountain road to Da'an Village. Here, you can photograph the 99 bends of the Taihang Highway and experience the breathtaking spectacle of the mountains dancing like silver snakes. If it's raining, the mountains will be shrouded in mist, allowing you to take endless photos.
Next, we'll head to Longchuanggou Waterfall, one of the largest waterfalls in Shibanyan! Its drop, over 300 meters, cascades down a chasm of grotesque peaks and rocks, plummeting into a deep pool. Your tour leader will guide you to the perfect photo spot. Along the way, we'll explore the Taihang North Sky Road, capturing breathtaking scenery as we walk. We'll then drive to Louzitou Village, a protected "Traditional Chinese Village" in Henan Province. The village is imbued with a quaint, rural atmosphere, and its well-preserved ancient architecture. This allows us to capture the authentic natural beauty of ancient villages nestled deep in the Taihang Mountains, with their earthen walls and fish-scale roofs made of slate. The various villages along the way offer unique characteristics. We'll then find a hidden gem in the Taihang Mountains: a commanding observation deck in the canyon, where we'll capture Taihang Pinghu, a sapphire embedded in the canyon, a perfect photo spot.
Overnight at the hotel in Slate Rock town.
Day 4 Taihang Grand Canyon → Guoliang
·morning
After breakfast and a short rest, we drove to the Taihang Grand Canyon for photography. Taohua Valley Scenic Area is the core of the Taihang Grand Canyon. Here, we captured the canyon's precipitousness and the vibrant beauty of its waters. The numerous waterfalls and springs within the area provided excellent subjects for our slow-motion photography of flowing water.
After lunch at your leisure, we'll continue on to the Taihang Sky Road, a spectacular stretch of the Taihang Mountains. Its crisscrossing canyons and towering peaks make it an ideal spot for photography. With luck, we might even witness a misty sea of clouds and breathtaking views of the north.
We departed Linzhou by bus and drove about three hours to Wanxian Mountain in Huixian. We then took a scenic shuttle bus to Guoliang Cliff and stayed at Guoliang Village, an ancient cliffside village over a thousand meters above sea level. In the evening, we all enjoyed a delicious meal together, splitting our own expenses and resting.
Day 5 Guoliang → Kunshan Hanging Wall → Wangmangling
All day
Get up early and take a small car to the watchtower and the ladder to capture the sunrise over Wanxian Mountain, where the mountains extend to the plains. (The meeting time for sunrise photography is subject to the tour leader's arrangement. It is recommended to bring a medium gray gradient filter to balance the light ratio.)
In the morning, we arranged to shoot on the wall of Guoliang Cave. The morning light penetrated through the canyon and was shot obliquely inside the cave (the light ratio inside and outside the cave is very large, and the team leader will teach everyone how to shoot bracketed exposure or HDR).
After lunch, we took a scenic bus to the border of Henan and Shanxi, then transferred to the Wangmangling scenic bus to cross the Kunshan Cliff, a famous and magnificent cliff road in the South Taihang Mountains. Located at a high point overlooking the mountains, it is known as a unique road that must be driven in the South Taihang Mountains.
After exiting the tunnel, we arrived at Yingpan Village in Lingchuan, Shanxi, where we arranged for lunch and overnight stay at a farmhouse. In the afternoon, we'll travel directly to Wangmang Ridge, the summit of the Southern Taihang Mountains. We'll explore and photograph the northern loop of the summit. Geological epochs have shaped the unique karst topography of Wangmang Ridge, a mountaintop that offers a unique landscape compared to the red cliffs of Wanxian Mountain. On rainy days, the chance of clouds and fog is high. We'll continue our photography until nightfall, returning in time for dinner and a brief rest.
Return to your respective rooms to rest in time, as you have to get up early the next day.
6. Tianwang Mangling → Hongyan Grand Canyon → Tianjie Mountain
All day
Photographers will need to get up early again today to head to the Cliff Observation Deck to capture the sunrise and sea of clouds at Wangmang Ridge. We're hoping for a lucky break, with both the sea of clouds and the sunrise. (We recommend bringing a medium-density gradient filter to balance the light at sunrise. You can also shoot time-lapse photography here. For your phone, we recommend bringing a tripod.)
After breakfast, we will return to our room to rest. We will then proceed to the Tianjie Mountain Scenic Area, passing through the Xiyagou Red Rock Cliff Grand Canyon. The canyon here is magnificent, with four generations living together!
After checking in at our accommodation and resting briefly, we set off for Huilong Tianjie Mountain. The Huilong Grand Canyon, shaped like a giant basin and resembling a canyon, boasts a breathtaking expanse of red rock cliffs plunging thousands of feet into the distance. The Yunfeng Gallery, like a belt encircling the majestic Tianjie Mountain, was a particularly impressive sight. We strolled through it, walked along the cliffside plank roads, and gazed at the natural reclining Buddha, marveling at the wonders of nature. With luck, we could capture the vibrant glow and clouds, and after the rain, we could even capture the misty clouds drifting through the canyon.
We'll stay near the Tianjie Mountain Scenic Area that night and have dinner together on a AA basis. If you're still feeling up to it, you can get together to photograph the Milky Way. The advantage of staying in the mountains is the lack of light pollution. On clear days, the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye, a sky filled with stars.
Day 7 Baligou → Zhengzhou
All day
Tourists who get up early can take photos of the canyon scenery near their accommodation. If you are lucky, you can see the sun shining on the golden mountain and the sea of clouds surging in the canyon!
After breakfast, we drove to the Baligou Tianhe Waterfall scenic area. This scenic spot embodies the essence of the Taihang Mountains, combining the unique beauty, treacherous terrain, stunning beauty, and secluded tranquility within a single valley. Known as the "Soul of the Taihang Mountains and the Spirit of China," it has been hailed by landscape experts as "Asia's Unparalleled." From afar, the waterfall kisses the blue sky above and cascades down through the rocks, resembling a jade pillar supporting the heavens or a white silk thread hanging in the air. Its trembling silken ribbons resemble the Milky Way pouring down, its roar deafening, the earth cracking and the sky collapsing. Over ten meters wide, the waterfall crashes against rocks and waves before cascading with lightning speed into the emerald pool, scattering thousands of piles of snow. Beneath the pool, hidden waterfalls create a cascading waterfall, creating a magnificent spectacle. Here, we set up our tripod and confidently filmed the flowing water in slow motion.
You can have lunch at your own convenience in the scenic area. You will leave the scenic area around 12:00 and take a bus back to Zhengzhou city.
We arrived at Zhengzhou East Station (the high-speed railway station) around 4:00 PM and disbanded. Everyone said goodbye with tears and a reluctant smile! Don't forget to submit your Taihang Mountain photography assignments on China-TravelNote Photography Network. We look forward to seeing your Taihang Mountain photography!
