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The curve of the dragon 
I can almost imagine the roars of the imperial army as they rushed toward me and suddenly right in front is Jacky Chan. The next moment sound of camera shutters releases brought me back instantly. And my friends call out to the donkey cart driver to backup and come down the narrow passage between the huge cliffs again. Once more we got ready in position at this famous location where Jacky Chan filmed his movie the ¡®Myth¡± and also many other Chinese productions as well.
Yinma Gorge is the largest of the gorges in the Yellow River Stone Forest National Park. ¬The Yellow River winds from west to east with the Stone Forest in one side and opposite the river is a small village. Thus the area where the river winds through is called ¡®Lung Wan¡¯ or Dragon¡¯s Curve. The village itself is a typical dusty place with very basic amenities similar to most of the other places here. The guesthouse we stayed for the night is a simple village home with no hot water and toilet is a shack out in the open. The people who come here are usually photographer who doesn¡¯t mind what¡¯s lacking in the village, as they are more interested in the surrounding landscape.
I can pictured this place will be much more photogenic during summer and autumn when the rows and rows of apple and red date trees are ready for harvest. Winter is cold and dry making it very dusty and what¡¯s left are rows of leafless trees under a hazy sky.
The nearby hill provides a panoramic view of the river as it winds round the village. And it¡¯s best to shoot this during sunrise as the warm morning sunlight turned the yellow gorge into shades of golden brown. This stretch of the Yellow River is surprisingly clean and clear. After the morning shoot you can hire a donkey cart to take you into the gorge that stretches for about 4km inside. Later part of the morning is better for taking pictures inside the gorge of Stone Forest as the towering cliffs blocked off the too early morning sun. As we were there during winter the place is deserted which made is easier for us stop anywhere we like to take photos. We were the only group inside the gorge and occasionally locals passed by in their motorcycle, which seem out of place as horses and donkeys would fit this place much better.
Our donkey cart owner was one of the extras in the ¡°Myth¡± and was eager to tell us all about the shoot and the locations where the action scenes were shot. And thus we made him drives his donkey cart through the same narrow passage a few times for us to take pictures. ¡®One more time¡¯ my friend called out again and again till the wooden cart looks like it¡¯s going to break down as it rumble pass the rocky path.
 
 
Lung Wan is about 2 hours drive from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu. Lanzhou itself has nothing much to attract photographer except the old iron bridge, and during the Chinese New Year the bridge is decorated with hundreds of red lanterns and were brightly lighted up at night
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