The Dragon's Backbone

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China. The word itself seems to invoke a sense of intrigue and mystery for most people.
Only those that have actually visited understand the true meaning of this vast and quickly developing country of the far east. When people, especially westerners, think about China, images of The Great Wall, Shanghai, Hong Kong, The Forbidden City, or Tiananmen Square all come to mind. However, within this immense country of culture and diversity lies a secret lost world that time seems to have forgotten. The mountainous regions of Southeastern China is home to the Zhuang, Yao, Dong and Miao minorities that inhabit an area known as the Terraced Fields of Longji or more commonly known as The Dragon's Backbone.

The terraced rice fields are situated about three and half hours just north of Guilin city within the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region of Southeast China. The fields have been carved out of the mountains and cultivated by the Zhuang, Yao, Dong and Miao people for centuries. Standing atop of the mountain one really gets a feeling of the peaceful, quiet and almost idyllic lifestyle that has been shared by the villagers for generations.

Getting to the fields is almost as big an adventure as spending time there. To get there our journey began in Guilin. We decided to take public transportation rather than be involved in an organized tour, which I should mention, can be obtained through local travel agencies and guide services, but, riding on a local bus with the local people definitely gives one a different flavor, if you will, and a better perspective and understanding of the lifestyle of the people. Anyone that has ever traveled throughout China understands that the transportation system is well, unique.

About two and half hours out of Guilin the bus suddenly stopped and the driver said that anyone that is going to Ping'an needs to get off here. So, we got off the bus and stood along side the road and watched the bus drive off towards Longshen, its final destination, wondering what to do next. A man with a small van approached us and asked if we needed a ride to the villages. We said “yes,” and after about ten minutes of bargaining about the price, we agreed that for twelve Yuan each, he would take us up to the village entrance gate. So, we all climbed into the small van and off we went. The road connecting the main highway and the villages is a small, narrow, winding road that follows along the river up the mountain.

As you drive along, the river is on one side and various houses and small villages are on the other side with the road at times seemingly cutting right though at peoples front doors. It is common to find doors opening up right onto the road. Kids playing in the middle of the road and occasionally a dog asleep. This time a group of men were butchering a pig right along side the road as we passed by. They didn't even look up or move when the driver was honking the horn to let them know we were approaching and the van went sailing by. They seemed very much accustomed to the traffic going by.

We finally reached what is known as the Entrance to Longji, all vehicles must stop here and pay an entrance fee in order to enter into the area, which is about fifty yuan each. Along the roadside there are various shops and booths selling all kinds of specialties of the local people, from spicy chili sauce to handmade embroidery. There was one booth selling dried rats on a stick,which I am sure are delicious, but, I had to pass this time. There are also many local people hawking photo albums and postcard of the area. It should be noted, that all the money collected in entrance fees goes to the county government, (Longshen) to maintain the roads and provide assistance to the villages of the surrounding area. Once we purchased our entrance tickets and some cold drinks we were back on our way. Just a short distance from the entrance, the road forks, you have a choice to go to The Zhuang village of Ping'an or continue to the top of the valley to the Yao village of Dazai, we chose to visit the Zhuang of Ping'an. When you make the turn off the main road, you cross the river and head up the mountain, zig zagging your way up the mountain for about half an hour before you finally reach the top and the entrance to Ping'an.

Once the van stopped and we got out we were instantly engulfed by the villagers trying to sell us some sort of local craft, picture, or offering to carry our luggage up to the top for us. There were also many people that were trying and entice us into staying at their hotel. Many of the villagers have found that with the opening of the road and increase tourist activity that hotel management and restaurant services can be very good. So, many have converted their homes into a kind of bed and breakfast type arrangement.

The village has a unique set of rules regarding which families, if you will, will meet the guests and have the opportunity to host the travelers for a visit. It is a method of taking turns depending on the day of the week. For example, if it is your day of the week then you are able to meet the guests, if not, you are then suppose to help the other families with the farming and construction work that is shared by all of the villagers. It is a rather simple but fair and effective method in getting all the farming done and giving the opportunity for each family to host guests.

After some more bargaining about the price of a hotel with a woman that owned and operated one of the hotels, we followed her up the hill to the hotel. The arrangement would be that we would spend the night and the hotel would provide lunch, dinner and breakfast the next day. We checked out the room and as typical rural Chinese hotels go, it was a small room with two beds but, as an added and surprising feature, we had our own private bathroom complete with a western style toilet. After some lunch and a brief rest we decided to walk around the rice fields and see the village from the top of the mountain.

It was the middle of July and the fields were emerald green in color and water flowed from patty to patty in an amazing irrigation system. Water is plentiful this time of year as it rains in the afternoons, almost like clockwork, due to the early morning misty fog that lays in the valley and the very high humidity,. When we finally reached the top, we were greeted with a spectacular view of the entire valley. Rice patties covering the entire valley below with large mountains rising up in the horizon. The mosaic patterns of the fields are indescribable and remarkably amazing. The geometric shapes follow the contours of the land and fit like a jigsaw puzzle with each connecting to the next in an almost perfect fit. They seem to cover every inch of space providing maximum use of the land for crop production. The fields were not limited to only rice, some had corn, ginger, red chili peppers, and a variety of other vegetables.

While we were making our way along the trail, we were greeted by some of the local women offering to sell us embroidery or for a small fee they would show us their very long hair. The Yao women in this area are famous for having very very long hair, reaching clear to the ground in some cases. It is tradition that the women never cut their hair after the age of sixteen. We decide to pay them a small fee, about twenty Yuan, and have a couple of the ladies demonstrate to us how they fix and comb their hair. They said that they save all the hair as it falls out during normal combing then tie it together in long pony tails. It was quite an eye opening site to see the long hair fall from their head. After the hair show, we thanked the ladies for the demonstration and we continued wandering along the trail stopping periodically to take some pictures until we had finally reached the top.

From the top, we could even see other villages of the valley far off in the distance. We were where what the locals refer to as “Nine Dragons.” The Nine Dragons is the name given by the locals because of the design and shape of the mountains and with a little imagination, each of the contours of the mountain and the silver ribbon like reflection of the water gives the appearance of scales, all intertwined and fitting together like the back of a dragon with all nine of them appearing to be flowing down from the top and meeting in the valley below. We gazed in awe at this magnificent and truly remarkable architecture and design of the land.

We were also pleasantly surprised in finding an old woman living at the top. I guess her to be in her seventies, living alone at the top of the mountain. She offered to sell us cold water, soda pop or tea. I was not that thirsty as we had brought along some water with us, however she did grow tea right outside the opening of her little lean-to type home.

We talked some more with her and she told us that her family had all gone from the village to live outside and that her husband had died a few years back, which left her all alone. I kind of felt a little sorry for her, but she was in a place that was truly amazing and almost magical. So, with a little bargaining and some constant asking on her part, we gave in and bought some dried tea, about a pound I guess, for ten Yuan.

It was beginning to get dark and we had to get back to our hotel for the night so we said our goodbyes and off we went back down the trail to the hotel. When we got there the owner had already prepared a wonderful chicken dinner with green vegetables, some squash, some spicy eggplant and rice, and of course beer. The countryside food always seems to taste better than it does in town, probably because it is all grown right there and is cooked just like at home.

After dinner, I found a small internet cafe just a few doors down from the hotel. I was pleasantly surprised that in an area that seemed so remote and isolated from the busy outside world - the internet - is available! I quickly connected my notebook and checked the mail and read the newspaper then checked in on some on-line forums. What a treat I thought to be connected in such a wonderful place. I think that after about an hour I was ready to call it a night and go to sleep. I asked how much the internet time cost and the owner said, “Wu Quay” or five yuan, Wow, what a bargain, five yuan for and hour of internet time, that equates to about 75 cents in US dollars. I paid the owner and returned to the hotel. It is very quiet up in the mountains and I fell asleep easily and slept like a baby the rest of the night.

The next day, following as quick breakfast of rice porridge and some hard-boiled eggs, we decided to walk around to the other side of the village and up to the top of the mountain to see the “Moon and Stars” At the top of the mountain there is a monument to the area with a viewing area where you can see the entire valley and adjoining villages. It was a truly breathtaking site. After taking some pictures and enjoying the view for a few hours we walked back to our hotel.

After gathering our things at the hotel, we walked back down the road to the entrance of the village where we were fortunate enough to find a driver that was willing to take us back to Guilin. While we were walking out, I couldn't quit thinking about what a wonderful and amazingly simple life the people enjoy. I was kind of sad that it was time to leave as I so enjoyed the peaceful and relaxing time but it was time for us to go back to the outside world and leave the people of Ping'an.

A few extra notes:

I would like to extend a special thanks to the staff at www.visitourchina.com for helping make this wonderful memory.

If you go, take the local bus and experience the local flavor, it will be much more eye opening and satisfying.
Don't worry about finding a place to stay there are many families with hotels that are more than willing to host and can easily accommodate you.
Bring your camera because you will want to take many pictures to remember the time spent.
Lastly, when you reach the top of the mountain, relax for a moment, have a cool drink and don't forget to buy some tea from the old woman.



张志勇

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Photos

Ping'an Village
Looking down from Nine Dragons

Ping'an Village
Nine Dragons

Ping'an Village
Terraced Rice Fields

Ping'an Village
Approaching the Village

Ping'an Village
Entrance at Ping'an

Ping'an Village
Hotel

Ping'an Village
Growing Rice

Ping'an Village
Yao Women

Ping'an Village
Yao Women

Ping'an Village
Rice Patty

Ping'an Village
The Moon & Stars