The Incredible Longji Rice Terraces!

The last region that we explored was the Guilin area, located in the south of the country. While Guilin itself is definitely used as a hub for both rail and air connections, the gems of the area are mostly outside the city itself. For our first night we drove up into the mountains about 2 hours outside of the city, coming to Ping’an village. Ping’an is a marvel in itself with the village being made of about 80 stilted structures built into the hills. It is also a (mostly) car-free town with only local traffic allowed, meaning that most travelers will need to hike for about 30 minutes to get to their guesthouse. However, most will want to hike for a lot more than that as this is one of the best places to take in the incredible Longji Rice Terraces!

These terraces can be seen from most parts of the village, and many guesthouses will have balconies with great views of them. Seemingly every hill in the valley had been built for agriculture in the valley, with most of these terraces being over 600 years old. While these are seen practically everywhere in the village, you would do yourself a great disservice to not take one of the short hikes to take in full panoramic views from the nearby tower, or many vantage points.

Once you do that, you will be instantly rewarded with the surrealistic beauty of these lines, carved into the hills hundreds of years ago. No matter where you go, you cannot help yourself from snapping one more picture and relishing the sight. Each angle feels fresh and different, and utterly unique. In a world full of plentiful natural beauty (take it from a Montanan) there are few places where it feels like humans have aesthetically improved the landscape. The Longji Terraces are one of those exceptions.