Setting Out for Spring – 2019, March, Self-driving, Spring Outing (IX) Longsheng - Longji Rice Terraces.

Spring feels more profound for northerners. The vast land transforms from desolate and windy to the end of winter with less frost, and the warm spring breeze brings renewal. As the Spring Equinox arrives, the thick spring atmosphere rushes in. The wind shifts from biting to gentle, trees go from withered to buds covering the branches, and flowers are about to bloom. Suddenly, as if spring came overnight, thousands of pear trees blossom. Traveling at this time is certainly 'the best time of spring, with thousands of miles of orioles singing and green contrasting with red.' On March 20, my wife and I, following the traces of spring, embarked on a spring outing journey.

Day1 (2019,3,20): 6:26, depart from Daxing, Beijing, G4 Expressway, 12:06, arrive at Yinxu Ruins (odometer shows 495km). 12:40-15:20, lunch at 'Shengdeli', visit Yinxu Ruins. 15:48, Ma's Manor. 17:20, check in at Lavande Hotel (543km). 19:38, dinner at '76 People's Old-style Handmade Stewed Noodles'.

Day2 (2019,3,21): 6:47, depart from Anyang Lavande Hotel, Nanlin Expressway, 8:17-12:10, Hongqiqu Youth Cave Scenic Area (631km). 16:59, arrive at Yuncheng Manxin Hotel (1050km). 18:33, dinner at 'Longxingmei Pasta House'.

Day3 (2019,3,22): 7:46, check out and depart, 8:00-8:50, Colorful Salt Lake (1057km). 9:22-11:00, Haizhou Guandi Temple (1082km). 11:56-12:43, lunch, Yongji Puji Temple (1150km). 13:10-14:26, Guanque Tower (1157km). 17:25, check in at Xi'an Aegean Sea Hot Spring Hotel (1327km). 18:45, dinner at 'Lintong Impression'.

Day4 (2019,3,23): 8:10-12:08, Huaqing Palace. 12:50-15:10, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (1396km). 15:41, check in at Ibis Hotel (1405km). 18:00-21:08, dinner at 'Liuxiang Noodles', stroll around Muslim Quarter.

Day5 (2019,3,24): 8:50-11:55, Xi'an City Wall. 12:10, lunch (Laotongguan). 12:43, depart for Hanzhong. 16:30, check in at Hanzhong Binjiang Garden Hotel (1670km). 18:00-21:00, stroll along the Han River, dinner.

Day6 (2019,3,25): 6:22-7:50, walk along the Han River. 8:42, check out. 9:19-13:50, Xiemaxiang, Hongfu Road, Hanshan Top, Yangchun Town, Nan Zheng Nanhu, admire rapeseed flowers (1750km). 14:00, head towards Guangyuan. 15:50, check in at Guangyuan Hilton Home2 Suites (1915km). 18:05-20:30, dinner, stroll.

Day7 (2019,3,26): 8:28, depart. 9:16-12:08, Zhaohua Ancient City, lunch at 'Zhaohua Taste' (1946km). 17:08, check in at Leshan Golden Begonia Hotel (2389km). 17:30-21:10, confluence of three rivers, Leshan Giant Buddha, dinner at 'Leshan Taste'.

Day8 (2019,3,27): 6:50-8:00, stroll along the river. 8:42, check out and depart (2406km). 9:41-14:25, Jiajiang Jiayang Small Train (2471km). 16:40, check in at Ya'an Yucheng Impression Hotel (2642km). 17:05, stroll, dinner at 'Fat Teacher Fish House'.

Day9 (2019,3,28): 8:40, depart. 12:42-15:48, Qionghai National Wetland Park (2943km). 16:04-17:30, Lushan Mountain. 18:08, check in at Xichang Meili Shan Shui Hotel (2957km). 19:20, dinner at 'Niu Mu Ke'.

Day10 (2019,3,29): 8:00, depart for Lugu Lake (2960km). 13:45, Lugu Lake entrance in Yanyuan County (3201km). 14:30-15:18, Caohai, Walking Marriage Bridge (3205km). 16:03, Daluoshui Village parking lot (3221km), 16:20, check in at Mani Dui Hotel. 16:50-20:00, lakeside stroll, dinner.

Day11 (2019,3,30): 6:50, take photos by the lake. 9:20-15:40, lake circuit tour (3299km). 18:30-20:00, stroll, dinner.

Day12 (2019,3,31): Play around Daluoshui Village and Lugu Lake.

Day13 (2019,4,1): 9:30, head towards Lijiang, 14:00, check in at Shuhe Mozhu Tile House Inn (3496km). 14:30-17:30, lunch at 'Small Pot Rice', tour Shuhe Ancient Town. 18:20-22:00, tour Lijiang Ancient Town, dinner at 'Next Door Old Wang'.

Day14 (2019,4,2): 6:20-8:40, stroll around Shuhe Ancient Town. 9:26, head towards Panzhihua, 15:48, check in at Panzhihua Zhuxia Hotel (3763km). 18:20-22:00, stroll, dinner at 'One Bone'.

Day15 (2019,4,3): 8:50, head towards Dongchuan Red Land. 15:02-18:10, visit Dongchuan Red Land, take photos (4165km-4205km). 19:26, check in at Dongchuan Century Lijing Hotel (4249km).

Day16 (2019,4,4): 7:50, head towards Bijie, 12:30-17:40, Baili Dujuan Scenic Area (4689km). 21:55, check in at Bijie Southern Excellence Hotel (4770km).

Day17 (2019,4,5): 9:00, depart for Longsheng, Guangxi, 15:49, Longji Rice Terraces ticket office (5351km), 17:38, Ping'an Village parking lot (5392km), 18:35, check in at 'Seven Stars with Moon Resort Hotel'.

Day18 (2019,4,6): 6:30-8:00, take photos of Longji Rice Terraces. 9:40, depart for Dongjiang Lake in Zixing, Chenzhou, Hunan, 15:10, check in at Zixing Dongjiang Lake Qishi Hotel (5856km). 16:00-19:00, stroll, dinner with 'Mouth-Open Fish'.

Day19 (2019,4,7): 7:20-11:30, visit Dongjiang Lake, 12:10, head to Yingtan, Jiangxi, 18:45, check in at Yingtan Fontainebleau Hotel (6451km).

Day20 (2019,4,8): 7:00, head to Jiande, Zhejiang, 11:00, Jiande Qili Yangfan Scenic Area parking lot (6785km). 11:40-13:35, play by the Fuchun River, lunch at Kaiyuan Fangcaodi Countryside Hotel. 14:30, check in at Tonglu Daman Hotel (6841km). 18:00-21:40, Tonglu county town.

Day21 (2019,4,9): 6:30-8:00, play by the Fuchun River, 9:50-11:30, Daqishan National Forest Park. 18:20-21:10, stroll around Tonglu county town, dinner.

Day22 (2019,4,10): 9:50-15:00, play by the Fuchun River, Tianmu Stream, Fenghuang Mountain, Tongjun Cable Bridge, Binjiang Park, lunch at 'Mother-in-law'. 19:00-20:40, stroll around Tonglu county town, dinner.

Day23 (2019,4,11): 9:00, head to Nanjing (6885km), 12:02, lunch at Yixing 'Dushunxing Zhenjiang Pot Lid Noodles'. 14:08, check in at Nanjing Orange Crystal Hotel Yixianqiao Branch (7247km). (Need to have a lab test in Nanjing, see doctor two days later.)

Day24 (2019,4,12): 8:45, head to Xinghua, 11:06-13:50, Xinghua Qianduo Scenic Area (7466km), 16:50, check in at Suzhou Geya Hotel (7696km), 17:30-21:20, Jinji Lake, dinner.

Day25 (2019,4,13): 9:40-13:45, Jinji Lake. 14:20, check in at Lefu All-Suite Hotel. 17:40-21:30, Pingjiang Road, dinner at 'Dingshengxian'.

Day26 (2019,4,14): 8:50, head to Tianmu Lake, 10:59-13:30, Tianmu Lake Landscape Garden, lunch (7876km). 14:45, check in at Nanshan Bamboo Sea Inn (7921km). 16:20-19:30, Tianmu Lake Yushui Hot Spring.

Day27 (2019,4,15): 9:17, head to Nanjing, 12:30, Nanjing Zhongshan Hotel (8056km). (Pick up lab report and see doctor at Nanjing General Hospital.) 15:15, head to Xuzhou, 18:50, check in at Xuzhou Pengcheng Hotel (8394km).

Day28 (2019,4,16): 5:40, depart for Beijing, 12:46, arrive home in Daxing, Beijing (9076km).

Beijing – Henan – Anyang – Hongqiqu – Shanxi – Yuncheng – Yongji – Shaanxi – Xi'an – Hanzhong – Sichuan – Guangyuan – Leshan – Jiajiang – Ya'an – Xichang – Lugu Lake – Yunnan – Lijiang – Sichuan – Panzhihua – Yunnan – Dongchuan – Guizhou – Bijie – Guangxi – Longsheng – Hunan – Zixing – Jiangxi – Yingtan – Zhejiang – Tonglu – Jiangsu – Nanjing – Xinghua – Suzhou – Liyang – Nanjing – Xuzhou – Beijing

Longsheng Longji Rice Terraces

From Bijie to Longji Rice Terraces Scenic Area, passing through Qianxi, Guiyang, Longli, Qiannan, Rongjiang, Leidong, Sanjiang, mostly ethnic minority areas, with beautiful scenery and rich ethnic characteristics. Many places are worth visiting. Since we had visited most before, we skipped them this time. The entire route is 600 kilometers, taking 6 hours and 50 minutes, arriving at the Longji Rice Terraces ticket office at 3:50 PM.

(From Baidu image)

The Longji Rice Terraces ticket office is located at Jinzhu Zhuang Village. After buying tickets (80 yuan per person) and entering, you still have to drive more than ten kilometers on mountain roads. The road is very narrow, with many bends, rough surfaces, and some sections with puddles. There is considerable traffic, mostly private cars and tour buses. You need to be extra careful when turning or meeting other cars.

About Longji Rice Terraces. In southeastern Longsheng County, Guangxi, in Heping Township, there is a large-scale terrace group, distributed between 300-1100 meters above sea level, with a maximum slope of 50 degrees. The terraces wind layer by layer from the foot to the top of the mountain, overlapping and undulating, with flowing lines and magnificent scale, known as 'Longji Rice Terraces'.

Longji Rice Terraces consists of two parts: Ping'an Zhuang Rice Terraces and Jinkeng Dazhai Yao Rice Terraces.

Ping'an Rice Terraces has two unique landscapes: 'Nine Dragons and Five Tigers' and 'Seven Stars with Moon'. 'Nine Dragons' refers to nine small ridges branching from the main dragon vein, 'Five Tigers' refers to five slightly raised hillocks. 'Seven Stars' refers to seven small hillocks specially left during creation, each standing in the center of a field, looking like seven twinkling stars guarding the crescent-shaped moon field of Longji.

Jinkeng Dazhai Yao Rice Terraces is surrounded by mountains on all sides, resembling a natural sinkhole, hence the name Jinkeng (Gold Pit). Jinkeng Rice Terraces has three viewing spots: Xishan Shaoyue, Dajie Qianceng Tianti, and Jinfoding. These three spots form a secluded paradise away from the secular world.

Because the three viewing spots in Jinkeng are far apart, time-consuming and physically demanding, plus we were tired from the journey, we planned to only visit Ping'an Rice Terraces.

We had booked the 'Seven Stars with Moon Resort Hotel' in Ping'an Village in advance, but following the navigation, we ended up at Dazhai parking lot (Jinkeng Dazhai Yao Rice Terraces Scenic Area). So sometimes you really can't trust navigation too much; it can be unreliable. Especially in some mountainous or remote areas, asking around and using your mouth is more reliable.

Having driven more than 20 extra kilometers, we arrived at Ping'an Village parking lot at 5:40 PM. We thought we could check in and rest soon, but it turned out the hotel was at the top of the mountain, requiring at least a half-hour climb. Luckily, an old local man carried our luggage (50 yuan). Even so, we were out of breath by the time we reached the top.

Ping'an Village is a Zhuang ethnic village, with houses built along the valley. The uphill paths serve as streets. Usually, there is a wind-and-rain bridge at the village entrance, providing shelter from wind and rain, a place for chatting, gatherings, or selling agricultural products, and also serves as a welcome and farewell spot. Whether entering or leaving the village, you must pass through it. After crossing the wind-and-rain bridge, follow the stone steps up the mountain. At the top is the hotel for tonight.

The higher we went, the steeper the steps became. Halfway up, the overlapping terraces appeared.

At 6:30 PM, we arrived at the Seven Stars with Moon Hotel. The hotel is located above the Seven Stars with Moon viewing platform, essentially a family inn. Except for being a bit small, the room was nice, and opening the window allowed us to see the terraces.

Before it got dark, we took a walk on the viewing platform. The terraces had been flooded with water, from the top to the bottom, each plot and layer sparkling and green.

We had dinner at the hotel. Perhaps the landlady's cooking skill, or the freshness of mountain ingredients, the bamboo tube chicken with chicken soup was superb—tender meat and delicious broth. The two of us actually ate a whole chicken.

The mountain night was extremely quiet, occasionally hearing a few dog barks from distant villages. Sleeping under the stars in such silence felt a bit unfamiliar, and I tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

In the early morning, misty clouds rolled like white waves among the mountains. The village was faintly visible in the fog, and the layered terraces looked especially bright and striking, as if painted with a brush.

In the thin mist, 'Seven Stars with Moon', the seven small hillocks were either green, white, or red, like seven colorful stars guarding the crescent-shaped moon field in the middle. The terraces at this moment resembled scattered layers of snowflakes or fluttering silver ribbons. The flowing lines sketched a beautiful ink painting created by the mountain people's hands on the vast mountain.

The mist gradually dissipated, the sun appeared over the mountain, and the scene brightened. The village shed its mysterious veil; figures appeared in the fields as farmers began their hard work. Tomorrow's painting will surely be even more beautiful.

'Seven Stars with Moon' is beautiful and poetic. I wonder how 'Nine Dragons and Five Tigers' is, perhaps even more beautiful. But to catch good weather at the next destination, we gave up 'Nine Dragons and Five Tigers', had breakfast, and went directly down the mountain.