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Published: April 11th 2012
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Our bus to Ping An left Yangshuo just before 8am and about 3 hours later we changed to a smaller bus which stopped at a small village so we could have a look at some longhaired women. This place was very touristy with all the ladies from the village trying to sell us souvenirs and charging people to take their photo. Also, besides our busload of mostly Chinese tourists there must have been about 5 more buses full of tourists at the village as well. After wandering around for 10 minutes they ushered us into a large building where we sat through a short but entertaining cultural show. The length of the ladies hair was impressive, almost reaching the ground.
From here it was back on the bus where we drove along a pretty river before heading up a steep and winding road for about 15 minutes before reaching the entrance for the rice terrace village of Ping An. I walked about 15 minutes up the hill along the path to the centre of the village where I found a nice comfortable room for just under $10 a night. I then had a late lunch which took a while before
heading up to the closest viewpoint overlooking the town and some really nice terraces. This route was very touristy with dozens of Chinese tourists getting their photo taken in traditional dress, posing for photos along the path, or browsing the many stalls on the way to the top. Some Chinese tourists paid to be carted by sedan from the entrance to the viewpoint, which must of cost quite a bit. I then had a little look around the village before having a rest in my room. Later that night when I came out for dinner I found the village virtually deserted, with just a handful of tourists staying the night in town. This suited me just fine.
The next morning after breakfast I decided to walk up to another viewpoint above town and then along the terraces to the viewpoint I had visited the afternoon before. From here I decided to walk to Zhuang village which was about 45 minutes away. The walk was quite nice and not strenuous at all. Once in the village it took me a little while to get down to the bottom because of all the deadend paths I was taking. It was nice
to wander around the village with no tourists in the way and only a handful of villagers about. There were some nice views from here as well. Although there were no tourists or tourist shops around I could see that they had recently put some new signs up in the village and were developing some new paths for tourists in the near future. I walked back to Ping An and then played some basketball with a local before it got dark.
On tuesday I decided that I would make the 4 hour trek across the mountains to another tourist town called Dazhai. It took me just over an hour before reaching the lovely town of Zhong Liu, where I had a cold drink and bought some biscuits. This village is very traditional and hasn't been touched by much tourism yet. I would recommend staying at this village if you want an authentic experience. I had also caught up to a group of Dutch people doing the trek with the aid of a guide. I thought I would stick fairly close just in case the paths got confusing. After about 45 minutes of walking along some impressive rice fields I
arrived at one of the villages above Dazhai. Shortly after I had a late lunch at one of the small hotels before continuing down to the carpark below Dazhai where I caught the 4.30pm bus back to a bridge about 15kms below Ping An. I had to wait for over an hour before my bus arrived, and then it was just a 20 minute ride to the entrance and 15 minute walk back to my hotel. I really enjoyed the Ping An - Dazhai walk and I would recommend doing this if you plan to stay a couple of nights. On wednesday I just took it easy and wandered around town taking some photos, having a few shots of basketball, and relaxing in my room. Tomorrow I am up early and off to the town of Sanjiang.
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Beata and Tomek
us At Home Abroad
Nice one;-)
surprising how this place looks so much different with decent weather;-)enjoy China