Together with my brother, a frequent visitor to China who speaks Mandarin and a fellow pBase member, I travelled west from Shanghai to the heritage villages of the Huizhou ("Hui Jo") region of Anhui province, centred around the city of Huangshan or Tunxi.

Hongcun ("Hongtsoon") was our first village and, alongside Xidi, the most affected by tourism. Many buildings now house smart cafes, guesthouses or gift stores. Nanping, in contrast, proved very largely unaffected, apart from the art students encountered at every turn. Apart from some ambitious but unfinished developments on its outskirts, Tangmo ("Tangmor") also offers glimpses of traditional village life, and also enjoys a particularly attractive riverfront setting. Xidi ("Shidi") is once again a well-developed visitor destination, whilst Cengkan now seems most memorable for its perfectly-framed vistas. Read more on my blog.

These images were taken with Nikon D300 using RAW format, and are available for licensing.