China Day 9: The Ancient Rice Terraces of Longji

Tuesday, April 26

This morning, we were picked up promptly at 8:30 am in the lobby of our hotel by a chatty little tour guide in a van with four other English speakers to visit the ancient rice terraces of Longji. The ride out into the countryside was filled with lush scenery, dramatic karst peaks and windy roads giving way to fleeting glimpses of a clear, green river. Along the way, Emma, our guide, filled us in on some info about our first stop to a traditional Yao village.

We were able to take a peak inside of a traditional Yao dwelling- usually a three story structure, with the first level given to the animals, the second to the living spaces and kitchen, and the third level to the sleeping areas.

The Yau people are one of the handful of tribes that have tended to the rice terraces for over 600 years, though they are most famous because their women are in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest hair- some over 2 meters!  They only cut it once when they turn 18, because they consider their hair a special gift from their parents.

The Yau people have discovered the wonderful world of tourism, and though they still carry on a very well-preserved, traditional lifestyle, they have also developed an aggresive sales pitch for trinkets and handicraft souvenirs, as well as a special cultural show, filled with music, dancing, and audience participation.  One of our new friends, Rodrigo from Brazil, was pulled up onto the stage to participate in a “mock” wedding ceremony.  We joked that he now has a second wife in China.

Different hairstyles signify a different status in the tribe- hair bundled up in cloth means that they are still single, hair rolled up on top of their heads means that they are married but without children, and hair rolled up on top of their heads with a small bun in the front of the foreheads means married with children.  I jumped at the chance to participate in a traditional circle dance with some of the women, which involved footwork sort of like the grapevine, and lots of hip bumping.

Emma described some of the interesting and humorous courting rituals of the Yau.  A man looks for certain things in a woman- a big voice, big feet, and a big butt (for healthy child-bearing), but small fingers to produce the finest handicrafts.  If a woman is interested in a man, she will show her attraction by pinching his butt.  If a man is interested in a woman, he will show her that he wants her by stepping on her toes!  Jack’s butt was pinched quite a few times as we exited the show!

Woven shoes worn by the local tribes as they work in the rice terraces.

After the show, our van picked us up and drove us over to Ping An, a small, traditional village set high up in the terraces.  We climbed up a long, winding stairway carved into the mountainside to reach a small restaurant where we took a break for lunch.  Along the way, we passed small shops and vendors, including these men who were pounding nuts to make a kind of nut brittle candy.

Some of the locals take a break to play cards.

The forests surrounding the village beyond the rice terraces are filled with bamboo and silver fir trees, and much of the food involves cooking with bamboo, either as part of the dish, or as a cooking implement.  Jack and I ended up ordering family style with Rodrigo and Ursula the Canadian, and settled on a spicy pork stir fry, bamboo cooked chicken, steamed wild vegetables, and a delicious sticky rice with taro, baked in a bamboo tube.

Lunch was a fun time of getting to know the other travelers in our group, which we haven’t really had a chance to do very much during this trip since we haven’t come across too many other English speakers.  Ursula turned out to be a glamorous marketing director at Roche/Genentech in Toronto, traveling through China alone while popping through Shanghai during the weekends to party it up with her Canadian diplomat friends.  Rodrigo is a sound producer for events, working in China for the past few weeks, but finally taking some time at the end of his trip to travel a bit.  By the end of our lunchtime, we had a standing invitation to visit him and his wife in Brazil!

After lunch, we continued our hike up to the Dragon’s Backbone, a series of swirling, terraced rice fields cut into the mountains.  From the highest point, looking down, the terraces reached as far as the eyes can see in every direction, shimmering like ribbons.  For us, the terraces were fresh and green, but depending on the season, you might see them filled with water reflecting the sunlight in the summer, shimmering and golden in the autumn harvest season, or covered with snow and fog in the winter.  I was in complete awe, watching some of the village people tend the plants, knowing that they have plucked the rice by hand for hundreds of years.

The ride back to Guilin was quiet and sleepy, all of us exhausted from our big day in the sun.  Once back at the hotel, Jack and I settled down at the poolside bar, where there was a happy hour special on beer- free flowing li quan (the beer of guilin) for 50 yuan!  While we were snacking, who should show up, but Mom and Dad!  We’d been waiting for them to get into Guilin, after their flight from SF, connecting in Taipei and Hong Kong.  Though they were tired from all their travel, they were quickly revived by a cold drink, and then we set out for dinner.

Guilin is known for a special kind of rice noodle, shaped like spaghetti, but with a toothier chew.  Our concierge recommended a restaurant nearby specializing in this noodle, called mi-fun, and we found a small, airy, utilitarian eatery where you order your noodles by weight.  The lady gives you a bowl of the noodles with a few slices of a fatty meat, and you can add soup, green onions, pickled bamboo and chilies to your heart’s desire.  It was quite a special thing to eat, so simple, yet so ingeniously delicious, that we all started scheming about opening up similiar eateries in the US as we walked back to the hotel.  Think it would fly?  Our total tab, which included 4 bowls of noodles, was 12 yuan- about $2!  If we charged these prices, it would probably be a non-for profit organization!

It was great to hang out with Mom and Dad, and we look forward to spending the remainder of our trip with them.  Tomorrow, we embark on Dad’s one request for his time in Guilin- a cruise down the Li River.  Should be pretty spectacular.