China is a vast country of extraordinary natural and cultural diversity, and Sichuan Province offers some of the most exciting wildlife and landscape photography opportunities in Asia. This tour has been designed specifically for photographers, combining time at productive bird and mammal sites with carefully chosen opportunities for close wildlife encounters, hide photography, environmental images and dramatic mountain landscapes.

Our journey takes us through an exceptional range of habitats. We begin among the parks and wetlands of Chengdu before travelling into richly forested mountain country, where bamboo, moss-draped broad-leaved forest, conifers and rhododendron-covered slopes support an extraordinary diversity of wildlife. From there we climb progressively higher, eventually reaching the immense alpine meadows, rugged passes, open grasslands and sweeping skies of the Tibetan Plateau. These constantly changing environments provide not only an impressive variety of photographic subjects, but also superb opportunities to place birds and mammals within the landscapes they inhabit.

Pheasants and other gamebirds will be among the principal photographic subjects of the tour. Sichuan supports an exceptional assemblage, and possibilities include Chinese Monal, White Eared and Blue Eared Pheasants, Koklass, Blood and Lady Amherst’s Pheasants, Temminck’s Tragopan, Chinese Grouse, Tibetan and Snow Partridges, Chestnut-throated Monal-Partridge and Tibetan Snowcock. Many of these birds inhabit remote forests or high-altitude slopes, but our itinerary has been structured to give us the best realistic opportunities to photograph them in the field.

At Long Hua we will spend time in dedicated hides, where patience may be rewarded with close photographic opportunities of some of Sichuan’s most secretive forest birds. Chief among these is the endemic Sichuan Partridge, but the hides may also produce Red-winged and Buffy Laughingthrushes, Emei Shan Liocichla and, with luck, spectacular gamebirds such as Lady Amherst’s Pheasant, Silver Pheasant and Temminck’s Tragopan. These sessions allow us to work quietly at close range and concentrate on portraits, behaviour and clean forest compositions that can be extremely difficult to achieve while birding on foot.

Wawushan provides a very different photographic experience and should be one of the major highlights of the journey. Its bamboo forests, mist-shrouded slopes and montane woodland support an exceptional range of birds including Streaked Barwing, Emei Shan Liocichla, numerous parrotbills, laughingthrushes, fulvettas, bush robins, woodpeckers and pheasants. Just as importantly, Wawushan offers one of our most exciting mammal possibilities: the beautiful and elusive Chinese Red Panda.

For many photographers, a wild Chinese Red Panda could be among the most memorable subjects of the entire tour. We will spend considerable time within its favoured high-altitude bamboo habitat, scanning for animals feeding, climbing or resting in the forest. An encounter could provide anything from intimate portraits to wider environmental images of this extraordinary mammal among bamboo, moss-covered branches and misty mountain forest. Other mammal possibilities at Wawushan include Chinese Serow, Red-and-white Giant Flying Squirrel, Sambar, Greater Hog Badger, Mainland Leopard Cat and Takin.

The Wolong and Balangshan region brings together spectacular high-altitude wildlife and some of the finest mountain scenery of the tour. Here we will photograph among forested valleys, alpine meadows, rhododendron, rocky slopes and snow-capped peaks while searching for Chinese Monal, White Eared Pheasant, Tibetan Snowcock, Blood Pheasant, Snow Partridge, Grandala, rosefinches, bush robins and many other montane specialities. We will also visit the Giant Panda centre at Wolong, providing an opportunity for close portraits and behavioural photography of Giant Pandas while learning more about the conservation work for which the region is internationally famous.

As we continue west and north, the scale of the landscape becomes increasingly dramatic. The forests around Mengbishan support species such as Sichuan Jay, Crested Tit-warbler, Przevalski’s Nuthatch, Black Woodpecker, White-throated Redstart and several striking pheasants, while the surrounding mountain passes offer excellent opportunities for wider landscape photography in soft morning light.

Eventually we emerge onto the Tibetan Plateau, where the character of the tour changes completely. The immense open grasslands, high-altitude wetlands and huge skies provide a magnificent setting for both wildlife and landscape photography. Here we will search for Przevalski’s Finch, White-browed Tit-warbler, Tibetan Partridge, Tibetan Lark, snowfinches, rosefinches, Black-necked Crane, Saker Falcon and a wide range of other open-country birds.

The plateau is equally exciting for mammals. Tibetan and Red Foxes, Grey Wolf, Himalayan Marmot, Eastern Roe Deer, Greater Hog Badger and Plateau Pika are all possible, and the open terrain often allows us to photograph animals within the vast landscapes that define this region. At Flower Lake, Black-necked Cranes may provide some of the tour’s finest behavioural opportunities, while the surrounding wetlands and grasslands can be particularly rewarding in the softer light of late afternoon.

Landscape photography will be an important element throughout the journey rather than simply a by-product of the wildlife photography. Mist-filled forests, bamboo-clad mountains, river valleys, traditional settlements, high passes, snow-capped peaks, alpine meadows, plateau wetlands and immense grasslands will all form part of the visual story of the tour. Whenever light and conditions are suitable, we will take time to work with wider compositions and environmental images that capture the atmosphere and scale of western Sichuan.

This is therefore not simply a tour to see a long list of rare birds. It is a photographic journey through some of China’s most beautiful and wildlife-rich landscapes, with time devoted to working patiently with exceptional subjects and creating images that reflect both the animals themselves and the remarkable environments in which they live.

Fascinating cultures, breathtaking mountain scenery, rare and highly localised birds, iconic mammals and an extraordinary variety of photographic settings combine to make Sichuan one of Asia’s most rewarding destinations for wildlife photographers.

We are delighted to offer this special tour in partnership with the Photographic Society of America (PSA). While created in collaboration with PSA, the tour is warmly open to everyone, and photographers of all backgrounds are welcome to join us for this exceptional journey through Sichuan.