Drone Videos of Western China

Yunnan is a province in southwestern China, in the area of Asia where the Himalayan region transitions to Southeast Asia.  It sits at the crossroads of several nations, cultures, and religions.  This video, which was nominated for the 2017 Drone Video Awards in the "People" category, gives you an incredible tour of this mountainous region.  Using a combination of drone footage and ground footage, you will get an indelible impression of a magical land, which borders Tibet.

Although China is the world's most populous country, most of its 1.2 billion inhabitants live on or near the coast.  Parts of the vast interior of the country are much less densely populated.  One of these is the province of Ninxia, which sits in the north-central part of the country.  Contributor Mattcoq traveled to Ninxia with a DJI Phantom 3 drone, creating a spectacular aerial video of this land which features landscapes ranging from mountains to desert.   

High above the karst peaks that line the Li River, contributor haussmannvisuals reveals the beauty of Yangshuo in Guilin, China.  The iconic topography of this county are often seen in calligraphic ink paintings but this drone footage takes the remarkable scenery to a whole new level.  Situated in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southeastern China, Guilin was a filming location for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (2005); it "played the role" of  the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk.

Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China, and was one of the four so-called Ancient Capitals of China.  In modern times, it is known as the site of the Xi'an Incident of 1936, during the runup to World War II.  Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek was detained here and forced to adopt a policy of cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party to resist ongoing incursions by Japan.  The policy ultimately helped to prevent Japanese hegemony in China, albeit at tremendous cost in Chinese lives.

Contributor and FPV pilot Sharpwest created this unbelievable video from China's Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in the Hunan Province.  China's first national park, it's known for its gigantic stone (quartzite) pillars.  Famously, these pillars (in computer-enhanced form) were used as the primary backdrop for James Cameron's epic sci-fi blockbuster Avatar (2009), by considerable margin the highest grossing movie of all time.  In this video, you'll see them from the perspective of an FPV racing drone!    

Top contributor YoumiTrip created this beautiful drone video from Huangshan, a mountain range of China.  It's located in the Anhui Province, which is an inland province which lies to the southwest of the Yangtze River Delta.  Huangshan's peaks reach an altitude of about 1.85k meters, or just over 6.1k ft.  Easily accessible from Shanghai and the other cities of the Delta, the Huangshan range is one of the country's top tourist destinations.    Much of the range is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  

Check out this amazing drone video from a gorgeous area of China's Sichuan province.  Jiuzhaigou is a mountainous nature area in the northern part of the province, which lies in the southwestern part of China.  The area lies on the edge of the Min Mountains, which is a range that defines part of the great Tibetan Plateau.  As you will see in the video, Jiuzhaigou is characterized by beautiful lakes, waterfalls, and canyons.  Sicne 1992, the area has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.  

This video from contributor Aerial Entertainment Studios will give you an incredible aerial view of the areas of Guanxi, an inland province in the southeastern corner of China.  The area is steeped in history, having served as the crossroads between China and Vietnam to its south.  The centerpiece of the video is stunning aerial footage of the regions of Guilin and Yangshuo.  Both of these cultural treasures have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Daocheng is an area of China's Sichuan province, in the southwestern part of the country.  It's in the Hengduan Mountains, a range which connects two of the main plateau areas of western China.  The area is part of western Sichuan, which is part of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.  Given that this part of Sichuan borders Tibet to the west, the population here is mostly of  Tibetan ethnicity.   You can see this beautiful part of the country from a bird's eye perspective, compliments of contributor borje_xy.  

Taiyun is one of the larger cities in the western (non-coastal) part of China.  It's the capital of the Shangxi province, which lies to the west of Hebei.  Shangxi, and Taiyun in particular, have been in the forefront of the industrialization wave that has pushed west as the costs of manufacturing in China's coastal provinces continues to rise.  In this drone video, shot with a DJI Mavic Pro drone by contributor Okoo63, you'll get some bird's eye views of this important manufacturing center.  

The region Inner Mongolia is confusingly named, as it suggests that it's part of the Central Asian republic of Mongolia.  In fact, Inner Mongolia is a semi-autonomous province of China.  The country of modern Mongolia is actually "Outer Mongolia", in reference to the fact that it's further away from the core of China.  In this video, contributor Kinjo gives us an aerial view of Inner Mongolia, which is 8x as populous as the republic.  

Top contributor Face Du Mond used ground camera and drone footage to make this stunning video of two of China's most beautiful provinces around the eastern part of the Himalayan system.  The Yunnan province is in the country's far southwestern corner, along the border with Myanmar.  Sichuan is an interior province, which lies to the north of Yunnan and to the east of Tibet.  The video will show you the spectacular natural scenery of this corner of China and its incredible people.