Longsheng rice terraces--daytripping feasible?
Jan 11th, 2007, 12:17 AM
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I visited the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces (Longji Titian) near Longsheng this past July. Here's the way my friend and I arranged our travels:
We flew into Guilin Airport in the evening and stayed the night in Guilin. The next morning, we left our luggage at our hotel in Guilin and each packed a small overnight bag (backpacks) for our visit to Longsheng. We anticipated doing a bit of hiking to reach our guesthouse in the terraces, so we packed as lightly as possible.
From the bus station in Guilin, we boarded the public bus to Longsheng. We were told that there are two kinds of public buses to Longsheng. One has air conditioning and reasonably comfy seats; the other is older and more cramped. We were surprised to see that our bus was almost entirely full, not with tourists but with local Chinese who had business in the town of Longsheng.
The ride from Guilin to Longsheng was wonderfully scenic; views of the karst formations soon gave way to hills draped with swaying bamboo forests and tiny farmhouses amid green fields. After approximately two hours, we debarked in Longsheng, which is just a drab little town at the base of the hills. To reach the terraces, we had to transfer to a mini-bus that would take us up the winding hills to the minority villages of PingAn and DaZhai. (It wasn't hard to find the mini-buses. As soon as we stepped off the bus in Longsheng, we were met by a flock of women and little kids who tried to shepherd us to one of their mini-buses. We just chose the next one to depart.)
The ride up the hills in the mini-bus was a bumpy one. It stopped several times along the way, and it was fun to see the locals hop on and off with their daily purchases. (One woman had a live chicken in her lap; another boarded with a washing machine!)
When our mini-bus reached the Longji terrace ticket office, a woman came on board to collect a small entrance fee from us (only the tourists). The bus then continued on to PingAn and DaZhai, the two main minority villages that serve as starting points for exploring the terraces. PingAn is the first village the mini-bus reaches, and we had heard that most tourists use PingAn as their base. We chose to go further up the hill to the village of DaZhai.
Once we got off the mini-bus at DaZhai, we were a bit bewildered. We could have stayed at one of the many guesthouses in DaZhai proper, but another traveler had suggested that we hike up the terraces and stay in one of the guesthouses overlooking DaZhai. The guesthouses up in the terraces are cheaper than those in DaZhai proper. But more importantly, the views from up top are spectacular, and staying up top makes it easier to explore the terraces late in the afternoon or early in the morning. If we had stayed in DaZhai proper, we would have had to worry about hurrying back down the terraces to make it back to our guesthouse before dark.
There are three main lookout points in the terraces overlooking DaZhai. We knew we wanted to head up to lookout point 1 and seek out the Panoramic Guesthouse. But we could find no signs indicating the paths to each lookout point. A very persistent Zhuang woman offered to be our guide and accompany us to the top for a fee. It probably would have been fine, but we were a bit wary. Luckily, we happened to cross paths with another traveler from France who was staying atop lookout point 1. He offered to lead us up the terraces, and we happily accepted.
We ended up staying at the guesthouse just below Panoramic's because our fellow French traveler recommended it. The guesthouse was owned by a Zhuang family--just mom, dad, and their middle-school aged daughter. Our fellow guests in the hotel were the French traveler, a young Korean couple, and a French filmmaker who has been visiting DaZhai for many years now to make a documentary about how the village is changing as a result of increased tourism.
My friend and I had our own room, which locked. Downstairs, there were indoor showers with hot water and four indoor squat toilets (scrubbed very clean).
We spent the afternoon exploring the rice terraces, soaking in the gorgeous reflections of the sky in the water. In the course of our wandering, we met only three or four other tourists. We did encounter several friendly locals heading up or down the hills who impressed us with how swiftly they navigated the slippery paths. We hiked up to the Panoramic Guesthouse, which truly had stupendous views. You can take a look at a few photographs here: http://lillian.smugmug.com/gallery/1724648
The photos in my gallery with the rock platform jutting out over the terraces were taken at this guesthouse.
In the evening, we ate a family-style dinner in our guesthouse (Chinese okra and preserved pork, a local staple) and my friend stayed up with the French to watch the World Cup.
The next morning, we said our good-byes and hiked to look-out point 2, which had even more spectacular views than those at look-out point 1. We stopped at nearly every turn to gasp and take photos.
In DaZhai proper again, we boarded the mini-bus back down to Longsheng. When we reached PingAn, we were lucky enough to encounter a bus to Guilin and hopped on board. Back in Guilin, we collected our luggage from the hotel and immediately took the bus to Yangshuo.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope it's helpful to someone! DaZhai was definitely my favorite part of a month-long journey through China.
We flew into Guilin Airport in the evening and stayed the night in Guilin. The next morning, we left our luggage at our hotel in Guilin and each packed a small overnight bag (backpacks) for our visit to Longsheng. We anticipated doing a bit of hiking to reach our guesthouse in the terraces, so we packed as lightly as possible.
From the bus station in Guilin, we boarded the public bus to Longsheng. We were told that there are two kinds of public buses to Longsheng. One has air conditioning and reasonably comfy seats; the other is older and more cramped. We were surprised to see that our bus was almost entirely full, not with tourists but with local Chinese who had business in the town of Longsheng.
The ride from Guilin to Longsheng was wonderfully scenic; views of the karst formations soon gave way to hills draped with swaying bamboo forests and tiny farmhouses amid green fields. After approximately two hours, we debarked in Longsheng, which is just a drab little town at the base of the hills. To reach the terraces, we had to transfer to a mini-bus that would take us up the winding hills to the minority villages of PingAn and DaZhai. (It wasn't hard to find the mini-buses. As soon as we stepped off the bus in Longsheng, we were met by a flock of women and little kids who tried to shepherd us to one of their mini-buses. We just chose the next one to depart.)
The ride up the hills in the mini-bus was a bumpy one. It stopped several times along the way, and it was fun to see the locals hop on and off with their daily purchases. (One woman had a live chicken in her lap; another boarded with a washing machine!)
When our mini-bus reached the Longji terrace ticket office, a woman came on board to collect a small entrance fee from us (only the tourists). The bus then continued on to PingAn and DaZhai, the two main minority villages that serve as starting points for exploring the terraces. PingAn is the first village the mini-bus reaches, and we had heard that most tourists use PingAn as their base. We chose to go further up the hill to the village of DaZhai.
Once we got off the mini-bus at DaZhai, we were a bit bewildered. We could have stayed at one of the many guesthouses in DaZhai proper, but another traveler had suggested that we hike up the terraces and stay in one of the guesthouses overlooking DaZhai. The guesthouses up in the terraces are cheaper than those in DaZhai proper. But more importantly, the views from up top are spectacular, and staying up top makes it easier to explore the terraces late in the afternoon or early in the morning. If we had stayed in DaZhai proper, we would have had to worry about hurrying back down the terraces to make it back to our guesthouse before dark.
There are three main lookout points in the terraces overlooking DaZhai. We knew we wanted to head up to lookout point 1 and seek out the Panoramic Guesthouse. But we could find no signs indicating the paths to each lookout point. A very persistent Zhuang woman offered to be our guide and accompany us to the top for a fee. It probably would have been fine, but we were a bit wary. Luckily, we happened to cross paths with another traveler from France who was staying atop lookout point 1. He offered to lead us up the terraces, and we happily accepted.
We ended up staying at the guesthouse just below Panoramic's because our fellow French traveler recommended it. The guesthouse was owned by a Zhuang family--just mom, dad, and their middle-school aged daughter. Our fellow guests in the hotel were the French traveler, a young Korean couple, and a French filmmaker who has been visiting DaZhai for many years now to make a documentary about how the village is changing as a result of increased tourism.
My friend and I had our own room, which locked. Downstairs, there were indoor showers with hot water and four indoor squat toilets (scrubbed very clean).
We spent the afternoon exploring the rice terraces, soaking in the gorgeous reflections of the sky in the water. In the course of our wandering, we met only three or four other tourists. We did encounter several friendly locals heading up or down the hills who impressed us with how swiftly they navigated the slippery paths. We hiked up to the Panoramic Guesthouse, which truly had stupendous views. You can take a look at a few photographs here: http://lillian.smugmug.com/gallery/1724648
The photos in my gallery with the rock platform jutting out over the terraces were taken at this guesthouse.
In the evening, we ate a family-style dinner in our guesthouse (Chinese okra and preserved pork, a local staple) and my friend stayed up with the French to watch the World Cup.
The next morning, we said our good-byes and hiked to look-out point 2, which had even more spectacular views than those at look-out point 1. We stopped at nearly every turn to gasp and take photos.
In DaZhai proper again, we boarded the mini-bus back down to Longsheng. When we reached PingAn, we were lucky enough to encounter a bus to Guilin and hopped on board. Back in Guilin, we collected our luggage from the hotel and immediately took the bus to Yangshuo.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope it's helpful to someone! DaZhai was definitely my favorite part of a month-long journey through China.
Jan 11th, 2007, 12:41 AM
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By the way, Stu, we saw the Sound and Light spectacular when we were in Yangshuo, and it was indeed magnificent. It was directed by Zhang Yimou (his recent films include Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Curse of the Goldern Flower). The live show takes places right on the Li River with the karst hills as a backdrop. It features a cast of several hundred dressed in the stunning traditional clothing of Guangxi's many minority groups. The choreography, the colors, and the lighting for the performance were altogether breathtaking, especially against the night backdrop of the karst mountains.
(Be prepared, though, for the rudeness of your fellow audience members. We were shocked by the people who chattered loudly throughout the performance to each other and on their cell phones. They seemed to appreciate the show, but I guess this kind of audience behavior is still common in China.)
Nonetheless, the show was excellent--definitely worth the 180 yuan per ticket.
(Be prepared, though, for the rudeness of your fellow audience members. We were shocked by the people who chattered loudly throughout the performance to each other and on their cell phones. They seemed to appreciate the show, but I guess this kind of audience behavior is still common in China.)
Nonetheless, the show was excellent--definitely worth the 180 yuan per ticket.
Jan 12th, 2007, 08:32 AM
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Lil1210:
Thanks for taking the time to post your account of travel through the rice terraces and villages. Sounds like you had a great experience, and took some fantastic pictures.
We're really looking forward to this part of the trip in May.
maytraveller
Thanks for taking the time to post your account of travel through the rice terraces and villages. Sounds like you had a great experience, and took some fantastic pictures.
We're really looking forward to this part of the trip in May.
maytraveller
Apr 7th, 2008, 10:04 AM
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althom:
our pix, I just selected a few taking in Guilin, Yangshuo and Longshen region:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...linAndVicinity
Did not write a report..only a short one taking in Japan, too.
Have a grand trip!
stu t.
our pix, I just selected a few taking in Guilin, Yangshuo and Longshen region:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...linAndVicinity
Did not write a report..only a short one taking in Japan, too.
Have a grand trip!
stu t.
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