In 1986, Yangshuo was still a rural farming valley, its life shaped by seasonal agriculture and dramatic limestone formations. I made this photograph from the edge of a harvested rice field, looking toward the karst peaks that have long defined the region.

Rice cultivation lay at the heart of daily life, following rhythms that had changed little over generations. The absence of large-scale tourism or major development allowed the landscape to remain in a fragile balance between human use and its natural form.

Within a few years, Yangshuo would become an international destination, and scenes like this would begin to vanish beneath expanding roads, new hotels, and increased river traffic.