Rice fields
 

Hey guys, going to china (guilin area) in end of January (on the way from hong kong to shanghai).

People have mentioned Guilin/longsheng/yanghsuo as the places to see. As i understand longshen is for the rice fields? I was wondering if it's worth visiting in january, especially wondering if the rice fields will be green (or nonexistent) :) thanks for any input

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have a similar question. Does anyone know of any rice terraces that would be green and with water in Yunnan or Sichuan in May/June? Thanks!

Perhaps locals and Fodorites who have visited at the right time can present their experience. I have personally worked in rice fields many moons ago, it's a backbreaking task and I shedded lots of tears and some blood.

Rice needs plenty of water in its growing stage so it is mostly grown along and south of the Yangtze River. Unhulled rice seeds are planted in plots with the soil kept moist until they grow into 7" bright seedlings. The seedlings are tranplanted by hand (there are transplanting machines nowadays) into the rice paddies filled ankle deep with water at all times. Farmers work bare-feet with pants rolled above the knees and try to slap the blood-sucking water snails and disease-carrying worms off their legs. The fields are drained of water when the rice stalks grow to 4' high and turn golden. When tops of the stalks are heavy with new rice, they are cut with sickles. Farmers wear sandals woven out of dried rice stalks/hay. The stalks are beaten till the rice falls off and then hulled. Brown rice is hulled once and white rice is hulled twice or more. Nothing is wasted, the hay is made into sandals, rain ponchos, roof covering and fuel.

Different provinces plant rice in different months due to the weather, some southern provinces have 2 seasons of rice growing. I like the harvest season of golden fields more than the green rice paddies from personal feelings.

wow great reply shanghainese!! Do you still work on the fields?

And from your experience, what is the color of the rice fields in january? (maybe my question is not app b/c you didn't work in southern china?)

Yeah Shanghainese, that was an eye opener.
I've also been fascinated with rice fields because to me they're pretty and symbolise quintessential Asia. What I didn't realise was the perspective from the field rather than the car at the side of the road.

Glad I could share my experience, and your sensitivity and understanding is much appreciated. I worked in the rice fields more than 250 moons ago and currently I'm an executive in a major US city.

The fields are bare in January, after harvest time, the 6" rice stalks in the ground are torched so the ashes can enrich the soil.

Kevin:

Perhaps these photos of the area including the terraced fields will give you some idea. I was there in March/April this year...the region is awesome...and the visit to the Longshen/Longji district is a highlight...the hike from the entrance to the scenic areas is a good one, steep but not impossible..I did it with a cane and a bad knee...but the payoff is eye-popping.

The area is about 100 miles west of Guilin, 2 hours or a little more by car,followed by the hike. There are a few acceptable places for a noodle lunch beyond the village of Longji....
and a smattering of groceries in both Longshen and Longji.

You'll be seeing the charming, colorful,long-haired Dong women in and around Longshen..and they may even escort you over a swaying bridge to the other side of the river for photo ops...customary to hand out some Yuan
to each(see photos).

In Yangshuo, don't miss the spectacular night/light show (Sanjie)...my photos do not adequately capture it...a "must see"....we used the Sheraton/Guilin as a base and fanned out from there with a very competent driver and guide...four days.

Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...linAndVicinity

Stu T.

***By the way, don't let Shanghainese kid you...she still plies her girlhood occupation wallowing in the rice fields of northern California...on weekends only.

Tower, Much appreciate your insights and especially sharing your pictures. What do you think of going to visit the rice fields in January?? Will there be anything to see or just brown hills??

s, well dang me.... i thought i had it rough with a paper route.

good to see that we both made it out.

yam seng, kampai, okole maluna. :-)

Hello, kevin109, it is worthwhile to visit this area at that time and you can see photos taken in Rice Terraces at that time http://guilinprivatetours.com/main/h...mp;cpath=0017:

Kevin:

The above photos from Jade will show you exactly what you want to see for winter. Remember, mine were taken in late March...I don't see too much difference in January as borne out by Jade's pix. He arranged our driver and guide who were great fun and very competent.
My opinion is that whenever you go, the terraces are a phenomenal sight.
Stu T.

Thanks Tower and jade!

I def appericate all your inputs. It's amazing to have sites like this where awesome people share their amazing experiences w/ others!

we also arranged with Jade to be our guide in our next visit to Guilin area.
We will dedicate one day to visit the rice terraces.
We will leave next Sunday !
Regards
Jose Maria Plana

kevin109 -- Sorry to "shanghai" your thread.

Sir Tower -- Since you started, I'll continue the story. Once upon a time, on the weekends in the rice fields of Nor Cal, there was a modern Sanjie who danced and sang in chinese and english. When encouraged she could even manage a tune in pigeon french, german, italian, japanese, russian, spanish and yiddish. She was a lithe 99 lbs on a 5'7" frame, putting on 10 lbs after the first child and another 10 after menopause. The $$ from the photo ops saw her thru grad school and many licenses and certifications.

Dear Stu -- Is this enough info for your next book? Sell it to Hollywood for a musical. Then contact the Mod Sanjie who now lives on a hill in Nor Cal a few miles from your DD. She will joint venture with you to develop Longshen West health resort in Nor Cal. Visitors can wallow in the environmentally friendly rice fields, stay in rice stalk thatched roof cottages, and eat chinese vegan food with produce from local farmers. Do we have a deal?!

p.s. since Xmas is still in the year of the Pig, Mod Sanjie has asked Santa to send you a pet pot belly piggy named RICE (not Condi).

Shanghainese....great story. Let me ponder over your joint venture offer!

Happy you took my comments in good spirits..knew you would! Little did I realize it was all true!

Stu

Tower -- Growing up as an army brat, Mod Sanjie has supreme respect for vets of all country. Her aunt Old Sanjie married a Flying Tiger and moved to Hawaii via the Burma Road. A vet herself, Mod Sanjie translated, sang and danced for the PLA (not Palistinian) in night/light shows from explosives. She just can't get vet benefits in the US!

Great story, Shanghainese! Not to mention your own life experience, which sounds like book material in itself.

On a side note, PL<b>O</b> is the organization from Palestine.
But there is just one PLA, as far as I know.

I just got back from visiting the Longsheng rice terraces in late July and it was one of the highlights of my 3 week China trip! I'm not sure what the fields will look like in January but it'll likely be green in May/June.

I spent 3 days in Yangshuo (much better than Guilin) and spent one night in Longsheng as it's about 3 hours away by car. The rice fields were lush and green when I was there and the views were simply amazing! I would also highly recommend my guide as she's was knowledgeable, spoke excellent English and very reasonably priced. Her name is Lilly and her email is [email protected] if you're interested. Have a great trip!

travelgo:

If you'll check out my photos in my post above (with pix) you'll see what the rice fields look like in early April...green. I'm with you...incredible sight to see. Also there are some pix of the outstanding Sanjie night show in Yangshuo.

stu t.