Ethnic groups in focus

He says he is stunned by the diversity in costumes, dialects, food and celebrations among the different ethnic villages.

"It's simply magical, and to think there are 56 ethnic groups in the country," he says.

Over the last six months, Adolf has explored elements of the Tujia, Miao, Dong, Bouyei and Yao people.

Originally from Munich, Adolf was first fascinated by Chinese culture when he watched the Disney animation Mulan as a child.

"The costumes were exotic and the martial arts were incredible," Adolf says.

It predisposed him to China and he soon grabbed a position working in Changde, Central China's Hunan province, in 2017.

He was helping a German company to build a tourism facility in Changde. After the project was completed, Adolf went on to explore the rest of China.