[coldtea]

"Fisherman/men in a canoe like boat at dusk/night in asia" is such a cliche it should be forbidden...

Knowing the journalist/fixer trade a little, this is some well known place/person, and photographers who go to China are taken by their local helpers (who know the drill) there to shoot "interesting" pictures.

This fisherman guy probably makes (or could make) more money posing for tourists than fishing...

[PStamatiou]

You can pay a photographer guide to help you get this exact shot. Author used this, as suggested by the footer perhaps: https://www.mercierzeng.com/guilin-photography-tours

This kind of stuff exists for many popular shots with local photographers you can hire to take you and even have you get up close with locals.

[chapium]

That photo is from guilin, and I have similar photos. The "fishermen" take people on raft (gondola) rides and will even sing to you in their local dialect. They also like to pick out the most foreign looking tourists and encourage them to sing as well.

Guilin is amazing photography-wise, but the tourism there has a very manufactured feel to it, as it does in most of the very popular places to visit there.