Main Attractions in Longsheng
What makes Longsheng County particularly standout are the splendid terraced rice fields, especially the Longji Rice Terraces (literally Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces) which is as famous as Yangshuo and Li River in Guilin to tourists.
Covering a total area of 71.6 square kilometers, Longji Rice Terraces Scenic Area in Longsheng consists of Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields and Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields, with the former including the terraced fields in Ping'an Village and Longji Ancient Zhuang Village, while the latter mainly in Dazhai Village. When talking about Longji Rice Terraces (or Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces) we normally refer to Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields since it is more popular for its better tourist reception facilities.
Longji Rice Terraces was first cultivated in ancient China's Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and finished in early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), with a history of more than 650 years. The altitude of Longji Rice Terraces is from 300 meters up to 1,100 meters above sea level, and its maximum slope is about 50 degrees. The ancestors must have not thought that one day the terraced fields they cultivated with blood and sweat would become so famous in China and even in the world. Below is some information about the main attractions in Longsheng.
Longji Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields
As the core tourist area of Longji Rice Terraces, the Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields are located in Ping'an and Longji two villages of Longji Town, Longsheng County. Most of the locals are Zhuang people and some are Yao people.
Longji Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields are built on hillside with stone paved paths leading to summit. It climbs more than eight hundreds meters, seemingly endless with big and small paddy fields.
The main scenic spots of Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields are "Seven Stars around the Moon" and "Nine Dragons & Five Tigers". "Seven Stars around the Moon" is made up of eight small hills filled with rice paddies, while the one in middle being watered it looks like a bright moon, and the others surrounded like seven stars. "Nine Dragons & Five Tigers" vividly describes the shapes of other terraced fields in the scenic area.
On the way up to the fields, you can visit the local wooden dwellings, and at the summit, enjoy the splendid rice terraces which look like layers of silver ribbons in spring, green waves in summer, golden pagodas in fall and white pleated skirts in winter. While on the way going down, you can enjoy the long hair show performed by Yao people and also buy some handicrafts made by minority people if you like.
Longji Ancient Zhuang Village >>
Situated in the northeast of Longji Town in Longsheng, Longji Ancient Zhuang Village consists of four Zhuang people tribes, i.e. Liao Family Tribe, Hou Family Tribe, Pingduan Tribe and Ping Tribe. Three family names of Liao, Pan and Hou live in the village.
The history of Longji Ancient Zhuang Village is over 430 years. In the village there preserves the most complete Zhuang stilt style wooden houses. Built on mountain slopes by ethnic people, these damp-proof houses are like sitting on a throne with mountain ridge on back, left and right sides. The most ancient one was built in Qing Dynasty, over 150 years old.
People in the ancient village made full use of stones and created unique stone culture of Zhuang. When you stroll in the village, you will find traces of such a culture everywhere: the stone-paved paths, stone bridges, stone mills, stone mortars, village gate and many other things made of stones. The most representative one must be the stone carving "Three Fish with One Head" on the wind & rain bridge in the village, standing for the solidarity between Liao, Hou and Pan families.
Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields
Farther than the Ping'an Zhuang Terraced Fields from the scenic area entrance, Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields has been developed to be a tourist destination less than twenty years due to inconvenient transportation. The terraced fields are surrounded by mountains, making the area like a natural sinkhole. Residents there are mainly Red Yao people, which is a branch of Yao ethnic group in China.
Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields is reputed as a wonder among worldwide attractions. Its marvelous terraced fields, unique Yao villages, colorful ethnic customs attract visitors from both home and abroad, particularly the shutterbugs and outdoor enthusiasts consider it a paradise for photographing and hiking.
There are three viewing points in Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields scenic area, i.e. Xishan Shaoyue (West Hill Music), Dajie Qianceng Titian (Large-scale Thousand-layer Ladder) and Jinfo Ding (Golden Buddha Peak). From Xishan Shaoyue people can have an overlook of 40-50 square kilometers of terraced fields, the winding paddy fields look like musical notes thus come the name. While viewing from Dajie Qianceng Titian, layers of terraces just like extremely long ladder rising up to sky. There are cable cars up to the third viewing point Jinfo Ding, the only attraction with cable car access in Longji Rice Terraces scenic area at the moment, Jinfo Ding is an ideal place to enjoy sunset.
Other famous attractions in Longsheng County are Longsheng Hot Spring National Forest Park and Hua Ping Natural Protection Area. Boasting a dense forest, various rare animals and plants as well as over twenty hot springs, Longsheng Hot Spring National Forest Park has extensive facilities such as resort hotels, restaurants, bath centers and entertainment places. Another attraction Hua Ping Natural Protection Area is located at the junction of Longsheng and Lingui counties of Guilin, and it is well-known for quantities of cathaya argyrophyllas. Before going back to the downtown of Guilin, some tourists also prefer to pay a visit to Yijiangyuan Scenic Spot in Lingui County, a large scenic area mainly display the cultures and customs of ethnic minorities.
