- The Bund at blue hour — Shanghai. 30 min after sunset. Pudong skyline lights up at the moment the sky turns cobalt. Stand opposite the HSBC building.
- Zhangjiajie sandstone pillars — Hunan. Sunrise, post-rain. The Avatar landscape. Cable car up Tianzi Mountain, mist usually rolls in by 9am.
- Li River karst, 20-yuan-note spot — Yangshuo. Golden hour, dry season. Xingping village. The view actually is on the back of the ¥20 banknote.
- Longji rice terraces — Guangxi. May (filling) or Sept (gold). Pingan or Dazhai village. Hike up before sunrise.
- Forbidden City from Jingshan Park — Beijing. 1 hour before sunset. The whole golden-roof complex from above. Best winter view.
- Mutianyu watchtowers — Beijing. First light. Be at the gate at opening. Tower 20 looking back to 14.
- Huangshan sea of clouds — Anhui. Sunrise, autumn. Stay overnight on the mountain at Shilin or Beihai.
- Reed Flute Cave — Guilin. Anytime. Long exposure for the lit limestone reflections.
- Pingyao city wall — Shanxi. Sunset. Walk the 6km wall, stop at the southwest corner.
- Songzanlin Monastery — Shangri-La. Late afternoon. Tibetan architecture against snow peaks.
- Chengdu panda yawn — Sichuan. 8–10am feeding. Get to the base when it opens. Sun Yat-sen Avenue exit by 11am.
- Victoria Harbour from The Peak — Hong Kong. Blue hour. Take the tram up before 5pm; viewing terrace gets queued.
Gear notes for China
- Drones — register with CAAC before you fly. No-fly zones cover most city centers and all heritage sites.
- Tripods — banned inside the Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors, and most museums. Carbon-fiber travel tripod is fine elsewhere.
- Backups — bring two SD cards. Cloud upload is slow without an eSIM.
Pair with the 14-day route or Yunnan loop for the highest density of frames.