Longsheng

After a 3 hour bus ride with a brief stop to use some primitive toilets at a tea farm, we arrived in Longsheng. Longsheng is an area full of rice terraces built right into the mountainside. We actually had to pay admission to drive up to the mountain villages because the government controls the tourism in the area. We switched to a government issued bus to drive up the hill. When we arrived at the lower village we were greeted by some Yao women selling postcards. They are famous for their floor-length hair. I think the Yao women from this Chinese minority group have the longest hair in the world. They had it all piled up into identical knots with most of it crammed inside a turban. They offered to take it down if we wanted to pose for photos with them. We declined. I can't imagine washing and combing out that much hair. It must take half of a day.

The scenery in Longsheng was very different to Yangshuo. The flat fields dotted with karst mountains in Yanghshuo had given way to large mountains lined with evergreen trees. The air was colder and a heavy mist blanketed the mountaintops. The Zhuang people who live in the timber villages here had completely transformed the steep hills into thousands of metre-wide rice terraces. It was truly breathtaking.

When we arrived at the top of the mountain we were greeted by local women with large baskets. They offered to carry out things to our accommodation. We agreed since this was their main livelihood. I was certainly glad I did because it was a long, uphill climb to get to the hotel where we were staying. We just kept climbing and climbing, passing identical timber houses built right over the ledges. It was like we had travelled back in time as we passed rice terraces, busy farmers and handmade buildings. The local people do not use stone in the construction of the houses because the local stone is of very poor quality. Instead they use timber because it is plentiful. They don't even use nails. Instead the timber is carefully fit together like the pieces of a puzzle.

We finally arrived at our timber hotel. It was lovely. The interior walls and doors were ornately carved. Our room was cozy like a mountain cabin. The wood gave off a faint smell of menthol (like Vick's Vapo-rub) which was quite refreshing. I guess we wouldn't suffer from a stuffed-up nose there...

It was a very relaxing place. Stephen strummed his guitar while I caught up on my journal. Later, we followed the hotel proprietor further up the mountain for a spectacular view of the '7 stars and a moon' rice terrace formation. We walked past local vendors selling handmade pillow covers, shawls and blankets. We carried on along the stone trail through the rice terraces just taking in the awe-inspiring beauty of the area. I just kept thinking of the mythical city of Shangri-La as I gazed down upon the timber homes from above. We ended our walking tour with a view of the '5 tigers and 9 dragons' rice terrace arrangement. Each vista was more beautiful than the last. The farmers used a simple irrigation system, harnessing the run-off from the mountain streams and inundating the terraces at appropriate times. The farmers worked hard and we saw them hunched over their terraces until late at night.

We returned and sampled the local rice wine over a homemade meal. It was delicious. The rice wine tasted quite a bit like lemonade. They poured it into plastic water bottles and sold it that way. We went to bed early and slept soundly dreaming of timber villages in the sky.