China From Above
China is a vast country with a seemingly endless variety of landscapes. From the modern skylines of Shanghai and Hong Kong to the ancient city walls of Xi'an, the former capital of the 'Middle Kingdom'. Imposing rice terraces contrast with stark desert scenery, massive coal factories rub shoulders with newly built cities.
I have been privileged to visit China a number of times in the last decade or so, usually with a photo- and or video camera in hand, trying to capture glimpses of this ever evolving nation. Earlier this year, I took the opportunity to travel across the country for another 3 months, focusing primarily on aerial photography and filming.
This little adventure took me from the Northern 'rust belt provinces' to the beautiful mountain landscapes of national parks like Zhangjiajie (often named as an inspiration for the popular Avatar movie) and Jiuzhaigou. I also visited some cities to gain an aerial perspective of China's urban development, and came across several major infrastructure projects. The rural backwaters in Guangxi province were a personal favorite to explore, with the surreal Dragon's Backbone rice terraces and karst scenery around Guilin.
I edited some of this material into one single clip, trying to show some of the diversity I came across. The drone I traveled around with was the DJI Phantom 4.
You will find footage from the following places in this clip (in no particular order): Zhangjiajie national park, the Yangtze River (Three Gorges), Dunhuang (sand dunes and solar panels), Guazhou (wind turbines), Hebei province (Great Wall of China), Dazhai (Dragon's Backbone rice terraces), Fujian province (Hakka 'tulou' round houses), Pingyao, Changsha (Mao Zedong memorial), Liaoning province (several industrial sites and 'ghost cities'), Guangzhou (Evergrande football stadium), Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jishou (Aizhai bridge), Hainan island, Chongqing, Guilin, Jiuzhaigou national park, Zhengzhou, Linxia (golden domed mosque), Zhangye national park, Macau, Hukou waterfalls, and Shenzhen.
Comments and suggestions are always appreciated, thanks for watching!
Copyright of all footage: Hoffer Media
Footage in this clip is available for licensing via:
Pond5:
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Videoblocks:
Big Trip to China 10-2016
Most beautiful places in China:
Shanghai, Shanghai Tower, Fenghuang county(Phoenix City), Jishou, Dehang couty, Liusha Waterfall, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Baofeng Lake, Tianmen Mountain, Heavenly Gate, Guilin, Huangluo Red Yao Village, Longji Terraced Fields, Li River cruise and more...
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Jishou Railway Station Guide - departure and arrival
Jishou is not a popular destination in itself. It is, however, a connecting point for some small interesting villages like Fenghuang and the Dehang Miao community. In addition to letting you visit the train station, we explain where to find the buses to these interesting places.
Check our channel for our videos that will help you understand China travel:
Best places to visit
Best places to visit - Chenzhou (China) Best places to visit - Slideshows from all over the world - City trips, nature pictures, etc.
The Southeast China Tour Ended in Zhangjiajie, China
The drive back to Zhangjiajie from Dehang Miao Village began in the same direction before a turn-off to Jishou City in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Lunch in a hotel that was hosting an extremely large, noisy and expensive Chinese wedding.
China is an exercise in contradictions. One minute you are watching people getting married western-style and then a few second later, a man is spotted trudging along the side of a highway carrying seven trays of plants on his back. China is never boring and Chairman Mao must be rolling in his grave looking at the risque signs in his country. Or...maybe not. Wasn't he supposed to be quite the womanizer?
Best places to visit
Best places to visit - Xianning (China) Best places to visit - Slideshows from all over the world - City trips, nature pictures, etc.
Best places to visit
Best places to visit - Tongren (China) Best places to visit - Slideshows from all over the world - City trips, nature pictures, etc.
The Highest Bridge In The World / Aizhai Bridge / China
The Aizhai Bridge (????) is a suspension bridge on the G65 Baotou--Maoming Expressway near Jishou, Hunan, China. The bridge was built as part of an expressway from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Changsha.
With a main span of 1,146 metres (3,760 ft) and a deck height of 350 metres (1,150 ft), as of 2013, it is the sixth-highest bridge in the world and the world's fifteenth-longest suspension bridge. Of the world's 400 or so highest bridges, none has a main span as long as Aizhai. It is also the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge. The bridge contains 1888 lights to increase visibility at night.
Construction on the Aizhai Bridge began in October 2007 and was completed by the end of 2011, ahead of schedule. The bridge was temporarily opened to pedestrians during the 2012 Spring Festival and was formally opened to traffic in March 2012.
The bridge was built with the assistance of a $208 million loan from the Asian Development Bank; the loan also funded 64 kilometres (40 mi) of expressway construction and upgrades to 129 kilometres (80 mi) of local roads. The bridge and the associated road construction were projected to reduce the travel time between Jishou and Chadong from 4 hours to less than 1 hour.[10
In September 2012, the Aizhai Bridge was the site of an international BASE jumping festival that included more than 40 jumpers from 13 countries.
Top of Mt Tianmenshan in deep winter Hunan China
square in Hengyang in Hunan , China,中国湖南衡阳广场
square in Hengyang in Hunan , China
Arabic: مربع في Hengyang في هونان ، الصين
Cebuano: square sa Hengyang sa Hunan, China
Czech: náměstí v Hengyang v Hunan, Čína
Danish: plads i Hengyang i Hunan, Kina
German: Platz in Hengyang in Hunan, China
Greek: πλατεία στο Hengyang στο Χουνάν της Κίνας
Spanish: cuadrado en Hengyang en Hunan, China
Persian: مربع در Hengyang در هونان، چین
French: square à Hengyang dans le Hunan, Chine
Hindi: हुनान, चीन में हेंगयांग में वर्ग
Hungarian: négyzet Hengyang, Hunan, Kína
Indonesian: persegi di Hengyang di Hunan, Cina
Italian: piazza a Hengyang in Hunan, in Cina
Japanese: 湖南、湖南省の広場
Khmer: ការ៉េនៅ Hengyang នៅហ៊ូណានប្រទេសចិន
Kannada: ಚೀನಾದ ಹುನಾನ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಂಗ್ಯಾಂಗ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಚದರ
Korean: Hunan, Haining에서 광장
Lao: ມົນທົນ Hengyang ໃນ Hunan, ຈີນ
Maori: tapawha i Hengyang i Hunan, Haina
Dutch: square in Hengyang in Hunan , China
Norwegian: torg i Hengyang i Hunan, Kina
Punjabi: ਚੀਨ ਵਿਚ ਹੁਆਂਨ ਵਿਚ ਹੈਨਗਯਾਂਗ ਦਾ ਵਰਗ
Portuguese: quadrado em Hengyang em Hunan, China
Russian: площадь в Hengyang в провинции Хунань, Китай
Sundanese: pasagi di Hengyang di Hunan, Cina
Swedish: torget i Hengyang i Hunan, Kina
Swahili: mraba katika Hengyang huko Hunan, China
Thai: สแควร์ในเฮงหยางในมณฑลหูหนานประเทศจีน
Filipino: parisukat sa Hengyang sa Hunan, China
Vietnamese: vuông tại Hengyang ở Hồ Nam, Trung Quốc
Chinese: 中国湖南衡阳广场
Chinese (Simplified): 中国湖南衡阳广场
Chinese (Traditional): 中國湖南衡陽廣場