Dongchuan Red Lands, a valley of colors yet to be discovered

China is a box of surprises from where stunning images from great landscapes are slowly being revealed. The Dongchuan Red Lands are an example of those places that still you won't find on the tourist maps.

The few travellers who arrive here have to deal with almost non-existent infrastructure, in an area where virtually there are no hotels and public transport is scarce. However, some local travel agencies are already offering tours to this incredible visual discovery. It could soon become one of the main attractions of the already interesting province of Yunnan:

Legend tells... I mean, websites as useful as China Trekking tells that the first Chinese photographers who explored these colorful hills, back in the nineties, tried to keep its location secret after taking some award-winning snaps. Image by JiKang Lee

Obviously the location of the valley of the red soil was revealed, and its popularity keeps on growing.
Image by JiKang Lee

To find something, having a name to start with is always helpful. But at first it seems that no one knew how to call the thing. Image by Winters Zhang

Some points of interest in the region or the villages are so small that lack names. Even the locals themselves call them by the number on the mile marker along the road: 109, 110... Image by Winters Zhang

Finally there is some consensus to use the descriptive title of Dongchuan Red Land, which is the name of the nearest city, the district capital. Image by JiKang Lee

Still, this area has also been known as Lexiaguo or Luoxia Gou Valley, which is actually the name of one of the most beautiful places on the route. Image by JiKang Lee

Over the maroon tones characteristic of a field rich in minerals like iron, other colors are added along the seasons to the various crops divided in parcels. Image by JiKang Lee

The best time to visit is during the spring and fall.
Image by JiKang Lee

Damakan is one of these small settlements. The cameras are waiting at a lookout point, several hundred feet above, the awakening the day when the chimneys of the houses begin to smoke. Image by Winters Zhang

Since the best images are captured at first light of dawn or dusk, it's best to stay overnight in one of the few guesthouses in the area. Image by Winters Zhang

The valley is more than 100 miles north of the provincial capital, Kunming, and about 20 miles south of Dongchuan.
Image by James Ho

You can find a map showing the approximate route through the Dongchuan Red Land at the end of the post.
Image by James Ho

Image by James Ho

The magnificent colors of this valley compete in splendor with the impossible spectacle of the other colorful Chinese mountains, Zhangye Danxia, that you can find following this link. Image by James Ho

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The fabulous floating stage of Bregenz Festival

When the sun begins to hide under the waters of Lake Constance, the formidable Bregenz Festival show raises the imaginary curtain on the world largest floating stage. From that moment, the 7,000 spectators gathered in the auditorium will dive into an overwhelming visual and audio feast outdoors in opera format.

Throughout its long history, the festival has built some of the most amazing designs ever seen on stage. An artistic and logistical effort to create a new project every two years, set in the beautiful landscape around. Now that the first pictures of the new scenario to be premiered in July are being published, it's the perfect time to review the previous productions of the most famous opera on the lake:

2011/2012: André Chénier (Umberto Giordano), was inspired by the famous painting of the French revolutionary Marat. Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Karl Forster

Acrobatic dancers executed a surreal aerial ballet at the top of the giant sculpture.
Performed by the company of Circus & Flying school Airealistic

Twilight on the shores of the lake. An extraordinary setting that no theater can match.
Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Achim Mende

2009/2010: Aida (Giuseppe Verdi)is a grand opera, traditionally set in Egypt. In Bregenz the action was moved at the foot of a Statue of Liberty torn to pieces. The giant parts of the mask were put together whilst the performance was going on.
Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Karl Forster

Aida had a flooring slightly below the level of the water in which the actors splashed around.
Image by Andereart

2007/2008: Tosca (Giacomo Puccini). The colossal iris transformed in a mechanical mobile platform, becoming a new circular stage. Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Andereart

To add a little more glamor, during some of the performances of the summer of 2008 were filmed scenes of the James Bond film Quantum Of Solace, with Daniel Craig walking among the public. Image by Stephan Mantler

2005/2006: Il trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi). From the original story of a rebellion in the Aragon Court, the action was moved to a modern industrial plant with its fearsome chimneys spitting fire. Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Andereart

Keep in mind that the stages should be able to survive the extreme weather conditions of the environment during two years. They also have to be light, easy and quick to move when changing acts, which gives us an idea of ​​the complexity of its design. Image by Achim Mende

2003/2004: West Side Story changed the opera to put in scene the troubled street gangs of Leonard Bernstein's classic musical. Image by Benno Hagleitner/VISION fotografie

2001/2002: La Bohème (Giacomo Puccini), updated the absinthe with Ricard pastis in the Latin Quarter of Paris.
Image by Karl Forster

Bregenz Festival productions usually tries to give a twist to the traditional opera repertoire, staging original and even extravagant plays. Image by Bregenzer Festspiele/Karl Forster

1999/2000: Un ballo in maschera (Giuseppe Verdi). The image of the grim skeleton watching the tiny figures moving on a book-stage, is definitely one of the most memorable icons of all time from the festival. Image by Benno Hagleitner

1997/1998: Porgy & Bess (George Gershwin) reproduced an apocalyptic scenography Mad Max style. Originally the opera was set in the Afro-American population of the United States. From this play comes the song Summertime popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, among others. Image by Karl Forster

1995/96: Fidelio modernized the sole opera composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in a setting that turned the streets of lower class households in overcrowded prison cells. Image by Karl Forster

1991/1992: Carmen (Georges Bizet). Occult on stage, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra plays the music that touches the spectators through a sophisticated audio system hidden in the amphitheater. Also, when interpreters are walking, their voices move with them too. Image by Karl Forster

Back to the present, 2013/2014: The Magic Flute from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart already begins to take shape for release next July. Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Lisa Mathis

This is an update with new pictures of the work in progress. Image by Bregenzer Festspiele / Anja Köhler

Lake Constance is known as the soul of Europe. On its shores are borders of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A lighthouse and the Bavarian lion flank the entrance to the port of the German town of Lindau, right in front of Bregenz.
Image by LenDog64

Finally, a timelapse of the stage building and scenes of the latest editions of this festival that has never ceased to amaze its visitors.

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Where was Game of Thrones Season 3 filmed?

The third season of the epic series is here and this is a great excuse to explore some beautiful exotic places, where the most pirated TV show of 2012 is travelling this time. We'll go from the extreme cold landscapes of Iceland to the sun-kissed sandy towns in North Africa.

David Benioff, one of the creators of Game of Thrones, explains in the video blogs that the team prefers to spend the money on locations rather than with FX or using green screens in the background. To make it possible, three units filmed the different plots of the story in parallel in several countries.

This HBO production is based in Northern Ireland and most of the locations for the first two seasons have been filmed around Belfast, but we are not visiting these ones. You can find a map including the filming locations of Game of Thrones for all the series up to now at the end of the post.

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The strange garden of monsters from the Renaissance

On a summer night, almost five hundred years ago, it is not hard to imagine the mixture of fascination and astonishment of the unwary guests that Prince Orsini had brought to his particular forest, populated by a bizarre delirium of stone.

Step by step, the torches would reveal the colossal sculptures hidden in the undergrowth. Around the corner a new surprise appears. Continuing to a hidden path another unexpected grotesque arises. It was a scenario not designed to please, but to surprise and shock the privileged visitors of that extravaganza of the Italian Cinquecento.

The Sacro Bosco of Bomarzo, also known as Park of the Monsters, is a unique masterpiece ahead of his time, or rather out of time. It was created from the hand of a noble patron, Vicino Orsini, described as artist and anarchic, and an architect, Pirro Ligorio, who later would be responsible for continuing the work of Michelangelo in the Vatican.

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Jeju island, the triple wonder of nature

Could this not-so-small volcanic island be considered the top wonder of nature of our time? In recent years Jeju has been collecting awards and nominations at the highest level. If Jerusalem is the three times the holy city, our island is the UNESCO's only triple-crown winner: World Natural Heritage + Global Geopark + Biosphere Reserve.

Also, in 2011, Jeju was voted no less than one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, side by side with the Amazon or Iguazu Falls. The so-called Island of the Gods (like the fabulous Bali) seems to have their blessing to become a world-class destination. So before massive tourism invades the new pride of South Korea, let's find out what treasures lie ahead in this promising place:

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Namaqualand flower power

One of the spectacles in Africa is the flowering of a 600-mile strip of coastal desert in Namaqualand. Once a year it becomes carpeted with blooms, in a similar way to the phenomenon of Flowered Desert in Chile. Plants compete to attract their pollinators with colour, as the water is scarce and the show will not last long.

This marvel featured an episode of David Attenborough's new Africa series. Up to date, we could say that this is the definitive documentary about this massive continent; Exploring from the Atlas mountains in the north, right the way across to the Cape of Good Hope. From Ethiopian Highlands across to where the Congo rainforest meets the sea.

Several teams from BBC were sent in sometimes, long expeditions, just to get a few precious minutes of footage for the final cut. Africa: Eye to Eye is the result of four years of work, and has amazed looking for new species, new behaviors and new ways and styles of filming. From all these tones of wonder, in this occasion we are visiting the florid explosion in the west coast of South Africa:

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Western Ghats, all the shades of green

Come to India: you'll find a moustached guard with a turban eating curry, next to a temple decorated with Kama Sutra carvings, whilst some colorful Bollywood dancers jump in front of a Bengal tiger looking at the scene from the background.

No doubt, the country of Taj Mahal is full of wonders, and also full of cliches. However, we'd like to introduce you to an India rare to find in the travel agency brochures. Below you'll find a few great scenic views from the large mountain range in the western coast, a wet symphony in green.

Since near 40 properties from the Western Ghats were recognized the past 2012 by the UNESCO as World Heritage, we wanted to pay them a visit. Also some filming locations for the Life of Pi have been shot here, so this was the final excuse to collect the best photographic harvest from this land of tea plantations and monsoon weddings:

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