Guilin---Longsheng (Or "Dragon Back" Rice Terraces), and the Yao People.

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Longsheng (or literally, "the scales of a dragon's back") is fifty-six miles northwest of Guilin, so as you can imagine, it took quite a while to get there. On top of that, we had to drive up winding roads on the sides of the mountains, and my buddy Jake was car sick the entire time!

Longsheng was more than likely built during the Ming Dynasty (or atleast five hundred years ago), by the Zhuang people.

It recieved its name because the rice terraces resemble a dragon's scales, while the summit of the mountain range looks like the backbone of the dragon. Visitors standing on the top of the mountain can see the dragon's backbone twisting off into the distance.

And, as you can probably believe, the fields were gorgeous despite the time being off-season. The fields are usually sought after during the spring and summer, when the fields are green and emit reflection light from the waters. But, actually seeing the backbone pattern itself was enough for me. Plus, there weren't that many tourists!

It is also dotted with Zhuang and Yao minority villages.

So, when we visited Longsheng, we walked through many Yao villages to get to the top. Ping An village was perhaps the village we stayed at the longest, since it provided us with Yao culture dances and singing to see.

Interestingly, the Yao people are one of the few cultures that still maintain their matriarchal heritage.

The Yao people are absolutely a great group of people. Their customs and ways of life are so special and unique:

A Yao woman will only cut her hair once in her life: when she gets married. And, before that, she covers her hair so that the first person to see her hair is her husband.

She will then show her hair once she is married, and tie it on the top of her head. Once she has children, she will tie her hair in a know against her forehead.

This shows the status of the woman. It provides us with information as to whether she is married and has children, or not; it also provides people within the culture contextual clues as to whether she is available or not.

The Yao people are also very artisanic: the woman were usually seen working on lumes, creating brightly colored patterns that reflect their culture. They are very skilled in embroidery, weaving and dyeing.

The Yao also consists of numerous sub-cultures, some of whom still depend on hunting rather than farming.

We even walked through a Yao house! The houses are made of wood, and consist of three stories: a floor for livestock, a living area, and a storage floor for rice.

Unfortunately, my tour guide told me the Yao will more than likely disappear in less than thirty years. And I can see why: many of the younger generations want to emulate Western-style fashion, hairstyles, and city life. In fact, most of the young boys in the villages were gone, because they found jobs working in factories. I even saw an old lady watching T.V. in her home.

And of course, most of this is the tourism industry's fault.

Well, at least I can say I had a taste of Yao village life, before it completely vanishes. It is just...so sad to see it happen.

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