Longji Rice TerracesJun 20, 2008
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| After breakfast, we headed out for our 5 hour walk at 9am, through the rice terraces. The terraces were first cultivated in the 13th century Yuan dynasty and has changed over the hundreds of years. The Zhuang and Yao people who are living here, from generation to generation, build banks and open fields and plant rice for food. From ravines with streams to peaks wreathing with fog, every part of the mountain that can be farmed has become terraces. For several hundred years, each generation has made the Longji Terraces more and more perfect. The biggest terrace is about 1/15 of a hectare and the smallest can have two or three seedlings planted in it. It truly is a spectacular sight to see the hard work and manual labour that goes into planting and maintaining these crops. There is an ingenius irrigation system employed, so the terraces are filled with water from the top of the mountain. The forst 30 minutes of the walk was a killer - it was quite steep and Scott and I knew we should have trained on the thousand steps!!!! Yet, still it was nothing compared to the great wall! After a short time it flattened out and we were walking amongst the terraces in the mountains, which spectacular views of the world below. Marvellous and awe-inspiring! We stopped a few times for rests, and after many many photographs, a few more steep climbs, and a few falls - yet I'm pleased to say I am not one of them!, we arrived at the Ping An village where we would spend the night before heading back to Guilin tomorrow. Only 6 more days until I am home, and only 3 more on the tour! This trip has gone so quickly! Love to you all xo |
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