Dragon Ridge Rice Terraces»

Located 27 km south of Longsheng Town, the vast Dragon Ridge Rice Terraces (Longji) cover the hills and mountains layer by layer. This is one of the most famous terraces in all of China, famous far beyond China for its fabulous scenery.

The old people of Longsheng have a saying: "Where there is land, there will be a rice terrace." In the Chinese province of Guangxi, a two-hour drive from the city of Guilin, the problem of sowing and growing rice on steep slopes has long been solved. Even the Yuan Dynasty in the late 13th century began the implementation of a large-scale task of sowing rice in the Longsheng Mountains .

It took four centuries to create the rice fields known as Longji. During this time, many generations worked hard on the terraces to provide their families with a year's supply of rice. But in addition, they created an amazing beauty of the area. It is not for nothing that the Chinese call this small miracle "a delightful terrace". 

At different times of the year, this area looks different. The water accumulated during the winter spills over the fields in the spring in the form of rain. In the summer, the fields turn into green rice fields, thanks to the winds that stir the rice shoots. In autumn, the ripe field of the crop gets a noble golden color, and in winter the entire slope is covered with snow.

The people who were forced to settle en masse in this hilly area during the Yuan Dynasty had a problem with crop shortages due to the peculiarities of the local region: the increasing population could not get a large enough harvest. Therefore, people have come up with an unusual technique for better use of arable land.

The pinnacle of human ingenuity is natural rainwater runoff, which is the only source of water in a mountainous area. Water is stored in reservoirs, and in the spring the rice fields are flooded with water. The staggered terraces ensure that all the water is used without any residue.

In Longsheng, ethnic groups such as the Zhuang, Dong, and Yao live in mountain villages near rice terraces. The inhabitants of the local villages wear national clothes (although some of the outfits are intended for tourists), and the women of Doon have very long hair.

Representatives of the Zhuan ethnic group call the terraces "The Dragon's Spine". From an 800-meter height, the naked eye can see that the fields look like the scales of a dormant dragon with a writhing spine.

Rice fields, the highest point of which is located at an altitude of 1,100 meters, cover an area of 60 square kilometers. This is not a place where you can come for a couple of hours to admire the scenery. Travelers who want to see this remote area are advised to stop for at least 2 days.

Visitors are always welcome here, and many locals even open small inns for travelers. Visiting the rice fields, you can learn a lot about the culture and characteristics of the local population. The terraces are best visited in spring or summer to discover them at their best. When you arrive in autumn, you will see high rice, the terraces will look like undulating hills.

For centuries, the rice terraces have been owned by families, passed down from father to son from generation to generation. When the communists came to power, the rules changed: at the birth of a person, a certain land plot is allocated to him, and after death, the local committee alienates it for its own use and later transfers it to someone else.

Although each family is able to grow a crop only for their own needs, rice is grown here not only for food. After all, there is always a place for small joys in life. And every year, a portion of the crop, the so-called glutinous rice, is used to produce rice wine.

Now, in the twenty-first century, the role of rice paddies is certainly not as important as it used to be. More and more young people are going to work in Longsheng or even further away. And, despite the fact that the terraces are still planted with rice, they no longer serve as the main source of income for the local population.

A few years ago, unscrupulous tour operators used these lands, while not wanting to share with the local population the profit received from tourists. In this regard, the local residents said that they would stop flooding the fields and growing rice. In this case, there was no point for tourists to go to the region. Needless to say, soon after this threat, tour operators began negotiations with local residents.

The rice grown here cannot be sold at a competitive price, as the area of the terraces simply does not allow for large volumes of grain. However, rice fields are increasingly included in tourist maps, and villagers earn more from tourism each year than from rice fields. Therefore, the rice plantations in Longsheng will be as long as they do not bore tourists.

However, this is unlikely to happen, given the amazing beauty of the landscape.