Guilin Longji Terraced Fields

Longji Terraced Fields are also called Longsheng Terraced Fields, are located north of Guilin City (located in southern China's Guangxi Autonomous Region) with a driving time of two hours from the city center.

Probably built 650 years ago, Longji Terraced Fields  are now famous for its large scale of rice paddies on the mountain, stacked up to form a rather spectacular view.

Longji Terraced Fields contain three villages. They are Ping’an Village (平安寨), Jinkeng Village (金坑大寨) and Guzhuang Village (古壮寨). Ping’an Village is the one most visited by tour groups while Jinkeng Village is higher up and larger with the availability of cable cars (70 Yuan one way, 120 Yuan round trip).

While climbing up to the mountaintop, visitors can experience the rural lifestyle of local villages which are mainly dwelled by Yao and Zhuang minorities. Timber-built rural houses among the terraces are highlights, too.

Guide Map for Longji Rice Terraced Fields

What to See and Do in Longji Terraced Fields

Ping’an Village

This is the most popular village due to its relatively good road condition and shorter distance. It can be visited in one day from Guilin City. Also it is the most commercial one. Ping’an Village is about 17 km from the ticket office with a driving time of 30 minutes, Ping'an is inhibited by the Zhuang minority people.

There are two viewpoints. Thanks to the well sign-posted walk from the entrance to the viewpoints, visitors can easily find their way to the first viewpoint  Nine Dragons and Five Tigers and the second viewpoint Seven Starts with Moon following the stone-map on the route.

Each viewpoint provides the perfect angle to hold one’s breathe and take amazing photos. Most visitors like to get to the second viewpoint first and then reach  the first viewpoint where they can go down the hill, which is an easier way. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete this hike.

Jinkeng Village

If one has one or two nights spend in Longsheng, Jinkeng is absolutely the best village to visit. As of 2014, it is the one and only village with cable cars and it is very large as is the scale of terraces.

Jinkeng is farther than Ping’an with about 22 km from the ticket office with 40-minute driving time, thus it is more rural and quieter. It is a Yao minority inhabited area, mainly containing Dazhai Village and five small hamlets around including Tiantou Zhai.

The entrances to the village and to the ticket booth for the cable cars are both near the parking lot. Upon entering the gate, one needs to cover a short distance away there is a wind rain bridge. Go across the bridge and the climbing starts.

There are three viewpoints. The viewpoint #3 is the arrival place of cable cars, offering a nice panorama view. While climbing up to the viewpoint #3, hikers will pass viewpoint #1 and viewpoint #2, in which different views are offered for photography. One and a half hours to two hours are needed if hiking from the bottom to the mountaintop.

Another mountaintop which is a bit higher up called Tiantou Zhai also offers and awesome view and requires two-hours of climbing time. Photographers can take good pictures there from different angles.

Hiking from Ping’an Village to Jinkeng Village

For hiking travelers, they like hiking from Ping’an Village to Jinkeng Dazhai Village which takes about four to five hours. Hikers can stopover at a small village called Zhongliu Village on the way to get refreshment.

It would be better to get a local guide with a small amount of fee to avoid getting lost in the mountain.

Best Visiting Time

Go at the right time as it is the plants on the rice paddies that make the terraces more beautiful. The good news is that in every season the area has its unique charm. In one day dusk and dawn are the best moments to capture the beautiful view.

 

Best Visiting Time	What to Expect
At the end of March	Rape flowers covering the whole mountain
From the end of April to the early May	Red manures spreading in the fields
Early June (June 8-June 10)	Water being flooded into the fields/Kaigeng Festival
July to August (Chinese Summer Holiday)	Fresh air and good weather/ green terraces
October 1- October 7(National Day Holiday)	The best of the best time/golden terraces. Best go there on October 7 and October 8
Chinese Spring Festival	Snow on the fields

Minority culture

Minority culture is another big highlight besides the spectacular terraces and unique traditional houses in Longji Terraced Fields. The area is inhabited by Yao and Zhuang Minority nationalities.
Yao women are famous because of their unique clothing and hair style. They are famous for having longest hair in the world as they never cut their hair. Most of the time visitors will see them wrap their hair in a bun. Usually it costs 10 yuan to take a photo of a Yao woman. If one are lucky they might get to see them wash their hair at the river side, do not miss the chance to take photos.

Zhuang Minority

The Zhuang are the most populous among the ethnic minorities in China . Guilin is one of the homes of the Zhuang nationality. Zhuang ethnic nationality is centuries-old and is distributed in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province, Guangdong Province and Guizhou Province .Their culture is particularly rich and colorful.

The costume of the Zhuang is a simple design with the favored colors being blue and black. The women like to wear embroidered towels as headwear and an apron covered with exquisite handwork. Zhuang ladies will also wear intricate pieces of handmade silver earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

Yao Minority

The Yao nationality is distributed in six provinces but the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region contains the largest population of the Yao people. They have their own language but most would also speak mandarin. Their origins date to the Qin Dynasty. There are several sub-groups within the Yao nationality.

Yao people are distinctive by their colorful national dress and often the women will have extremely long hair which is coiled up on top of their head.

Know Before You Go

1. Entrance to Longji Terraced Fields and its local bus service are run by a large local tour operator. The ticket is 100 Yuan/ person with a rough map of the connections of the villages in the area.

2. The ticket is available for all the villages but remember to bring it whenever you need to enter another village at the entrance.

3. The local bus service is provided in front of the ticket office and it takes 35 Yuan per person to get from the parking lot to the entrance to Ping’an or Jinkeng Village.