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Most Scenic China Villages

China, the mystery of the Orient, and also its greatest paradox. The fastest growing economy in the world from history's oldest civilization, whence steel and glass skylines are haloed by crumbling walls and well-heeled bankers rub shoulders with barefooted ethnic minorities. The country is amidst one of the most rapid transformations in its vast history, what this author calls the Dynasty of Change, yet also remains a veritable kingdom of the ancients. During my two-year journey to every province and autonomous region in the People's Republic, I have been blessed to visit both the gleaming metropolises of China's future and the sepia toned remnants of its past. The following series of photos, taken from my new book of photography ‘CHINA: Portrait of a People,' are what I personally consider the most beautiful sites of Old China; those remote villages that have yet to meet China's wrecking ball, and a proud people contented to proceed with their antediluvian customs as they have for five thousand years. To be sure, villages such as Lijiang in Yunnan and Jiangsu's Zhouzhuang are at once protected heritage sites and popular tour group destinations offering an accessible and attractive albeit faux look at traditional village life. But for a glimpse into China's true history, an excursion in the opposite direction from the crowds, off the proverbial beaten path, will reward the intrepid traveler with sites and experiences incomparable.