Reisterassen und Kegelberge

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Over Christmas, we went to Guilin and surroundings. We took an overnight-train to Guilin and went straight to a town called Yangshou and Long Ji.
A colleague was nice enough to make an itinerary for our trip so we did not have to figure everything out on our own. And luckily, another colleague accompanied us, so, again, we could avoid translation problems.
I am glad we did not spend too much time in Guilin (except for some caves we did not find so much to do there), instead, enjoyed starting our time in Yangshou where not only were beautiful mountains along a river (they are even on a 20RMB-bill) but also a lot of international people for hiking, rock-climbing and teaching English. It was great. Especially spending some time at a local pub, playing fussball (or table football) and hearing about other people's trips and experiences. The book store there was also very interesting.
Again, it was very cold, so cold we had to buy new jackets and put on hats during the night because there was not heat in the hotel room.
From Yangshou we went back to Guilin by a small bus, and switched to a car plus driver there to go to Long Ji. On the car ride however, we noticed that I had accidently left my passport on the bus. After a short time where I felt some panic bubbling up, we found a solution for the problem and some nice people who took care of the problem (Thanks to Amon!!).
In Long Ji, it was not any warmer. We were not quite sure what to expect when to get there, except for the famous rice terraces, but did not know what the village or hotel looked like. We hiked up a mountain and arrived in a labyrinth of wooden houses where we were greeted by the very sweet and welcoming hotel owners. The hotel itself was still under construction but it was possible to stay in it. The room as completely made of wood with a nice view.
Due to some bad dinner the night before I was not in my best shape that day and could only leave the bed until the afternoon. Still, it was worth getting up (the room was not heated anyway, haha). The weather was great again, and seeing the rice terraces in all their glory was more than we had hoped for. Even during winter they were so impressive, and we walked around the mountains for hours.
The next morning we decided to get up early to watch the sunrise from the mountain top. Unfortunately, it was so cloudy, we never actually saw the sun itself. Instead, though, the valley between the mountains looked like a wide river, and the lighter it got the more the terraces seemed to change their color. It was breath-taking.
This place, I believe, is beautiful all year around, no matter what season. Among the things we enjoyed the most was the fact that it was completely quiet. No noise, no cars. Just the nature-experience we wanted and some people in the village working and talking. Spending only one day there, I was already relaxed.

Look for yourself!

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Photos

hiking downhill
very very downhill