The ancient Longji Rice terraces

Guilin to Ping'An village & Longji rice terraces

Longsheng County, Guangxi province, China 

January 2006

Conchi, a Spanish ESL colleague of mine in Liuzhou, and I took a bus from Liuzhou to Guilin, where we spent the rest of the day and evening exploring Guilin. The next day, we went to the bus station in Guilin to take another bus to the Longsheng Rice Terraces, about 80 km away on winding mountain roads, that took more than two hours to reach. We spent a couple of days at one of the Longsheng Rice Terrace villages, named Ping'An, taking pics of the village and the surrounding ancient Rice Terraces, still being cultivated to this day. The weather did not play along and most of the time the scenery was locked away in mist and rain, which to an extent, together with the wooden structures of the village, did create a memorable experience.

Guilin is a city in Guangxi Province in South-Western China. It's known for its dramatic landscape of limestone karst hills. At its center are 2 lakes, Shanhu (Cedar) and Ronghu (Banyan), remaining from a medieval-era moat that once surrounded the city. Boats travel through these and other lakes via connected rivers. It is a very popular tourist destination. There are river cruises on the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, which is known for its bamboo rafting.

Downtown Guilin

Night view of a canal in Guilin

Xi river flowing through Guilin

Guilin to Longsheng

Whilst having to wait for our bus, we ate lunch at this street food cafe near the bus station in Guilin, so I took some pics how a typical street food cafe looks on the inside and what kind of food they serve. This, of course, was local cuisine unique to Guangxi province, but I worked in 6 vastly different provinces across China, and there is not much difference how they look with regards to interior decoration.

Guilin - Typical Chinese 'fast food' or street food at the bus stop, 
just before Conchi and I left for the Longji rice terraces

Guilin - A street food restaurant kitchen at the bus station where we took our bus to Longsheng

Guilin - A street food restaurant kitchen at the bus station where we took our bus to Longsheng rice terraces

Spicy Noodle soup being prepared

The bus we took from Longsheng to Ping'An village and the Longji rice terraces

It was about a two-hour bus ride from Guilin to the Rice Terraces, winding up mountain roads to reach the Rice Terraces.

Longsheng

Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guilin city (Wikipedia).

Longsheng/Longji rice terraces

The Longsheng Rice Terraces, also called The Longji Rice Terraces are found 23 kilometers out of Longsheng, and about 100 kilometers from Guilin and is the most famous rice terraces in China. Covering an area of 66 square kilometers, these rice terraces were first built in the Yuan dynasty and completed in the Qing dynasty by Zhuang people, making them over 700 years old. The terraced fields are built along the mountain slopes winding from the riverside right up to the peaks, reaching elevations of up to 885m. Nestled right next to the rice paddies is the town of Ping'An, built in its totality of wood.

Ping'An village

The Longji Terraced Fields consist of three main villages – Jinkeng Red Yao Village, Ping'an Zhuang Village and Longji Ancient Zhuang Village. When talking about Longji Terraced Fields, it is generally considered to be Ping'an Terraced Fields, the core tourist area of Longji Terraced Fields. Ping'an Zhuang Village accommodates more than 50 families with over 200 people. Most of them are Zhuang people and some are Yao people. The Zhuang minority nationality is the main nationality in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. One-third of the population in Guangxi is comprised of the Zhuang people. 

The Yao people in the village are distinctive from the other residents because of their hair. All of the Yao women in the village have long hair; with the longest being over two meters. Huangluo Yao Village, which is on the way to the Ping'an parking lot, was listed in the Guinness World Records as the "World's First Long Hair Village". It is said that all of the Yao women in the village only cut their hair once during their lifetime and that's when they become adults (18 years old) (Chinahighlights: online).

The Zhuang people in their traditional clothes assist tourists on the trip

From where the bus stopped we had to hike a distance to the actual village situated among the Longji Terraces. We were taken to Ping'An village, one of the three villages that formed part of the Longji Rice Terraces. We stayed a couple of nights in one of the wooden structures that served as a hotel.

The Zhuang village of Ping'an, 
now with many Guesthouses where one can overnight. 

As stated before, Ping'An village is part of the Longji terraces and one can easily hike from there to explore the Rice Terraces, which surround the village.

Ping'an village 

Ping'An village scenery

Longji rice terraces 

Longji rice terraces

Ping'an village

Vantage point - The access route to Ping'an village from the bus stop

The vantage point covered in mist

Progress ... a wooden structure being constructed

Conchi Saez, a friend and colleague, from Spain.
In the Guesthouse where we stayed at in Ping'An

 Longji rice terraces

 Longji rice terraces

Rice shoots still being planted on the same terraces constructed 700 years ago

Posing in Ping'an village

It was a cold and misty stay in Ping'An. It was a unique experience staying in the guesthouse constructed out of wood. All the buildings were wooden structures. The Zhuang people in traditional wear with their long hair and the ancient winding rice terraces made this a memorable trip. However, January is not an ideal time of year to experience this and take good photos. Still, memorable in the sense that one was able to stay with the villagers in an authentic setting, that has been there for centuries, still functioning the same way it did for more than 700 years. 

When in Southern China, this should be on your bucket list of what to see and what to do. Don't join an organized expat tour group. Instead, go to the local bus station in Guilin and take a public bus that caters for the Chinese locals and tourists. That way your experience will be much more authentic.