The rural Guangxi: Buffalo farmer

Our first interaction with rural Gunagxi was an afternoon in a small village were we photographed a buffalo farmer.
The village was just in the middle of rice harvesting and the roads were covered by freshly collected rice, drying out in the sun. We were surprised to see people, animals and cars walking and riding over the rice. Everybody was happy, collecting the food that will help them to survive during winter. A collective effort that will end up with many bags of rice in the village granary.

It was a hot afternoon, with clear sky over the surrounding karst mountains.
Our models were waiting for us, by the road. The female buffalo was still covered with a thick layer of mud; she was a bit annoyed that her afternoon siesta in the swamp was interrupted. The owner, a stocky man was dragging her by a rope. The rope, passed through the nose of the buffalo, gives the mean of control to the farmer over the strong animal.


For the next hour, the farmer and his buffalo walked over the field, crossing a small flow of water on a stone bridge. Later on, they sat on the bridge while posing for us. He washed the animal removing all the mud, leaving her skin shinny and clean. He was happy to follow all the photographic instructions of our guide; they were the perfect models that made possible for us to get nice images in this beautiful idyllic surrounding.

We tipped him a little in the end and surprisingly he handed us his Chinese business card.
An entrepreneurial spirit in a remote village, cashing in on the foreigner willingness to explore the traditional and rural China. We got some pretty good shots from the session; but we were also left with a bit of a bitter taste.


For other stories from Gaungxi please check: The rural Guangxi: Farmers Market and Cormorant fishermen from Xingping

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