LONGJI RICE TERRACE

Longji rice terraces are famous for their picturesque landscapes created by wavy patterned paddy fields layered along the hillside. They are located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region of southern China, widely known for its varied and spectacular natural scenery comprising of crust mountains, rivers and waterfalls and lush greenery.

The word ‘longji’ means ‘Dragon Backed Mountain’. During the months of April/May when the paddy crops are sown, the fields are full of water. It is said that they resemble the ‘scales on the back of a dragon’ when sunlight shines on them. However, the rice terraces are beautiful all through the year, with the beauty changing with seasons. From mid-April to mid-June the villagers are busy with filling the rice fields with water followed by planting the rice seedlings. During this time of the year, the rice fields shine like mirrors when sunlight falls on them. You can also have a glimpse of the hard work of the local people at this time of the year. From mid-June to late-September the seedlings have grown above the water level to give an appearance of a lush green carpet being spread all over the mountains. From late-September to mid-October just before the harvest, the color changes to golden yellow resembling a vast ‘yellow sea’ stretching from one mountain to another. This is also the peak season for tourists and it usually coincides with the Chinese National Holiday. This is followed by the post-harvest winter season when the fields are covered with frost and snow giving a sparkling white appearance. However, most parts of the rice fields are inaccessible to the tourists during this time as it is extremely difficult to walk through the frosty fields.

Rice terraces like scales on the back of a dragon

The rice terraces are nestled within the traditional villages of the minority communities of Zhuang and Yao and provide us the glimpses of rural China. The entire terrain has a gentle slope and a trip to the rice fields involve easy to moderate hikes.

The Longji rice fields are comprised of two separate rice terraces – the Ping’An terrace fields and the JinKeng terrace fields. Ping’An Rice Terraces are the earliest and the most developed and is considered to be the core area. It is inhabited by the people of Zhuang community most of whom are farmers and also operate small hotels in the Ping’An village. The JinKeng Rice Terraces, on the other hand, covers the largest area Longji. It is inhabited by the members of the Yao community and offer magnificent panoramic views of the rice terraces.

Location and best time to visit

Both the rice terraces come under the Longsheng county which is about 100 Kms from Guilin, a major tourist attraction of Guangxi Province. They vary in altitude from 300 m to 1100 m above the sea level. Best time to travel is from April to late October (till the end of harvest season) and it takes around 2-4 days to cover all the major viewpoints.

Getting there

The main gateway to the rice terraces is Guilin city and from there travelers need to transfer at either Longsheng town or Hepping village. Hepping village is one village before Longsheng and it takes about a couple of hours to reach either of these locations from Guilin through the twisty mountain roads. Ping’An village and JinKeng rice terraces are about an hour from these two locations. There are multiple ways of reaching Longsheng/Hepping from Guilin. You can either take the public transport from Guilin station direct to any of these locations or else can book a cab. From there you can buy tickets for the whole of Longji Rice terraces and the cost per ticket is RMB 80 per person. This ticket gives you access to the whole of rice terrace fields.

For foreigners, it is highly advisable to hire a guide and a car for the entire trip. Almost none of the local people understand English. Moreover, the directions are also in Chinese and there are no proper roads through the village to guide you to your destination.

Once you reach Guilin either by train or flight, you can start your journey towards Longsheng. The best option will be to reach Longsheng by the lunchtime. So, if you reach Guilin in the morning, you can straightaway head to Longsheng and if you reach in the evening, then better to stay overnight in Guilin and start the next morning.

Ping’An Rice Terraces

It is always better to start the trip from Ping’An rice terraces. Your vehicle will take you to Ping’An Zhuang village parking lot. Since no vehicles are allowed beyond that point inside the Ping’An rice terraces scenic area, so from the parking lot you need to hike to the rice fields. In case you need help to carry your luggage, the local women are available to carry those in bamboo baskets attached to their back for a nominal charge.

The Ping’An rice terraces have two viewpoints – Viewpoint 1 (also known as Nine Dragons and Five Tigers) and Viewpoint 2 (Seven stars with moon). While the names should ideally resemble the views that are seen from these points, your imagination will have a significant role to play if you would like to justify them. Viewpoint 2 is normally called the sunrise viewpoint and viewpoint 1 as the sunset viewpoint and they offer two very distinct beauty of the rice terraces. It takes around 20 minutes to walk from one viewpoint to the other, and the winding road along the mountains and through the rice terraces offers some breathtaking views of the paddy fields.

It takes around 1-1.5 hours to cover the entire stretch from viewpoint 1 and viewpoint 2 but this time may vary depending on how much time you spend in the viewpoints. Since it is needed to walk back through the rice fields, hence it is recommended to be back in the village by the evening. So, if you reach Ping’An by lunchtime, you can comfortably cover the entire Ping’An rice fields by the evening. If you would like to enjoy the majestic sunlight, then you need to hike to viewpoint 2 again in the next morning.

View Point1 Nine Dragons and Five Tigers

Overnight stay in Ping’An village

While it is not necessary to stay overnight in any of the rice fields, it is highly recommended especially, if you would like to experience the magical sunrise and sunset over the terraces.

There are multiple hotels in the Ping’An village, mostly operated by the local people. The hotels are available right from the entrance to the village up to the rice fields and come in different budgets. Staying near the village entrance would save you the trouble of carrying your luggage all the way up. However, on the flipside, if you would like to enjoy the sunrise, then you need to start way earlier than you would if you stayed near to the top. It takes around an hour to hike from the village entrance to the viewpoint 2. The hotels in the village are not as good as hotels in the downtown but most of them offer basic services like running hot and cold water, air conditioner, TV, washroom, free Wi-Fi and some of them also offer private balconies with beautiful views of the rice terraces.

Ping’An Guest House is one such hotel in the middle of the village close to the viewpoint 2. It is probably the biggest and the best hotel in the village. They have a new building and an old building and some of the rooms offer nice views of the rice terraces. They also have a restaurant that offers delicious Chinese traditional menu and an English breakfast.

The entire stretch is also dotted with cafes and family restaurants that offer both traditional Chinese cuisine and foreigner friendly menu of pizza, pasta, tea, coffee and hot chocolates as well as soft and hard drinks. Some of the cafes and restaurants also have open areas and facilities for small parties and karaoke. Longji rice terrace area is famous for its bamboo food which includes steam-soaked glutinous rice and wind-dry meat, peanuts and other ingredients cooked inside bamboo shoots and popularly known as bamboo rice and bamboo meat. The bamboo meal is easily available at all restaurants in the Ping’An village.

JinKeng Rice Terraces

This part of the rice fields is vast and offers some gorgeous photographic landscapes. It gets its name from its shape which is a normal formed pit, with Dazhai village at the base and Tiantou Village and several other villages at both sides. It is home to the Red Yao Ethnic group, the red Yao women are characterized by long and black hairs and dressed up in colorful and traditional clothes.

JinKeng rice terraces have three viewpoints. Viewpoint 1 also known as West Hill Music is about 1,180 m and is the highest. It offers magnificent views of the terraces specially during the sunrise and sunset and close to 90% of the Longji Rice terrace photos are taken here.

To reach the viewpoint 1 of the JinKeng rice terrace, you can either hike from Dazhai village which will take around 2 hours. However, if you decide to stay in Tiantou village overnight, then you need to hike for only an hour.

The viewpoint 2 is also known as Large-scale Thousand-layers terraces. It takes about an hour of hiking from Dazhai village to viewpoint 2 and 30 minutes from Tiantou village. It also offers a beautiful view of the rice terraces

The viewpoint 3 or the Golden Budhha Peak resembles like a Maitreya Buddha from Tiantou village. It has a super wide viewing platform that offers a panoramic view of the rice gardens. This is the only viewpoint which is connected to the Dazhai Village via cable car. The 20 minute of cable car journey also offers a beautiful view of the rice terraces as they travel over them. For hiking enthusiasts, it takes around 2 hours to hike from Dazhai Parking lot to viewpoint 3.

View Point 2 Large-scale Thousand-layers terraces

From Ping’An to Jinkeng

There are two most popular ways to reach JinKeng from Ping’An. One is by hiking through the Zhongliu village which will take approximately 4-4.5 hours and you will reach Tiantou village.

Other option is to reach Dazhai Parking lot by car from Ping’An village parking lot. If you do not have your car, then you will need to change bus at Erlong village. It may take 1 hour of waiting at Erlong bridge to get a connecting bus to JinKeng.

Overnight stay in JinKeng

Just like Ping’An it is not necessary to stay overnight in JinKeng. But again, it depends on your itinerary, how many days you have and how deeply you would like to explore the areas.

The hotels are mainly in the Dazhai village abd Tiantou village. Apart from these two locations, there are also few hotels near each viewpoint. Most of the hotels provide basic facilites of hot water, AC, TV, etc. while some also offers Wi-Fi and private balcony. Although the outside structures of the hotels are very traditional, some do have modern interiors for a comfortable sleep at night.

Dragon’s Den Hostel at Tiantou village is a peaceful retreat surrounded by the rice terraces and provides affordable and comfortable stay with all the basic facilities and free Wi-Fi. This hostel is a popular choice among the foreigners staying overnight at JinKeng.

An ideal itinerary

AnotherMile team visited the rice terraces during late-June for a couple of days. Based on the visit they can recommend few options for an ideal itinerary for the interested travelers.

An ideal itinerary would depend on how many days you have and how deeply you would want to explore the areas. However, if you would like to explore both Ping’An and JinKeng you need to have at least 2-3 days in your disposal. A day trip would allow to visit any one of them. Here is an ideal itinerary for 2 nights and 3 days.

Starting from Guilin in the morning and reach Ping’An by the noon time. You can spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the Ping’An rice terraces. Enjoy a relaxing evening in the rural settings of Ping’An and next morning head towards JenKing. You can choose any of the aforementioned ways to reach JenKing and spend the rest of the day there. You can stay overnight at JenKing and next morning start for your destination.

Tips for travelers

· The difficulty levels of the hikes are from easy to moderate. However, owing to the conditions of the hiking tracks, please wear anti-skid shoes.

· Hiking through the rice terraces are not advisable at night. However, if you need to do that, don’t forget to carry a flashlight with you.

· Avoid carrying heavy luggage, backpacks are ideal for the entire trip.

· The weather changes frequently, hence carry a raincoat or umbrella with you.

· Please carry both wide angle and telephoto lens. There will be ample opportunities for both kind of shots. Also suggested to take drone for mesmerising video.

· Have sufficient time in hand to reach the airport / railway station from the rice terraces especially during the holidays and long weekends.

· Preserve your ticket to the rice terraces safely as you will need them for the entire trip.

More videos on Longji Rice Terrace can be viewed in our YouTube channel AnotherMile “https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3zx-zfNtFlG_fv29p0vLpQ”.

We were ably helped by Miss YvonneYi and Mrs Lee who was our guide. For tour guide you can contact Miss YvonneYi at +86 15907739926 or email at “ivonneyi@yahoo.com” or contact Mrs Lee at +86 1397837933 or email at “ guilinlee0111@163.com”

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