Yuanyang, China

I've spent the past few days in a remote little town called Yuanyang. The tow is know for its spectacular rice terraces and as such, tourists from all over China and the West flock here. Yuanyang was by far the most laid-back place I've visited in China, with only a handful of foreigners and only a single Chinese tour bus. (Typically the tour buses line the streets of popular destinations!)I met Florian on the bus ride from Kunming to Yuanyang and once we arrived, we immediately met Sophie and Paul, and Pauline and Cedric, two couples from France. Florian being Swiss spoke French as well, so I was the odd man out in terms of language. But Sophie quickly came to my rescue as my translator. Born to English parents, but having grown up in France, Sophie was my link to the others in the group. The six of us spent all of yesterday enjoying the rice terraces. From sunrise to sunset we marveled at their beauty and the sheer effort it must have taken to construct them. Hundreds of hillsides have been transformed into agricultural land, the bounty of which feeds most of Southern China. Despite the fact that the terraces were bare, albeit filled with water, their beauty remained. Not quite the green hillsides that are boasted about by the travel companies, but the glistening water-filled terraces brought a beauty all their own.