Beautiful pictures show the breathtaking tranquility of Chinese rivers as fisherman use birds to catch their prey

• The pictures were taken on rivers in China's Guangxi Zhuang region to record the ancient art of cormorant fishing
• Cormorant fishing is a dying art which involves sending trained cormorants to catch fish bring them back alive
• The fishermen tie a snare at the base of the their throat, stopping them from swallowing larger fish which they spit up
• Once a vibrant and lucrative art, it has been practiced for more than 1,000 years but has been ravaged by industry

Guided only by the flicker of their lanterns and the last light of a dimming sun, three cormorant fishermen drift silently across a Chinese lake, hoping to make a last catch for the day.

With its myriad shades of purples and blues, this stunning photograph provides an eery and touching snapshot of a dying tradition, all but stamped out by big business.

As the sun sets in these remarkable images, taken in China's Guangxi Zhuang region to record the ancient art of the cormorant fisherman, so to fades the light of a once vibrant and lucrative industry that has taken place in Japan and China for more than a thousand years.