Picturesque Ping'an

:: Terraces all around ::

From Yangshuo we caught a bus north to Guillin followed by a bus up into the mountains to the Zhuang minority village of Ping'an perched high up in the Guangxi mountains amongst spectacular terraced rice fields. We had read and heard that there was a chain of villages, representing different local minorities worth exploring around this area. We weren't hitting it during the season to see the area at it's best but we hoped for the best.
A small local bus dropped us off and we hiked up the mountain (with our backpacks) into the village. Lots of old women with big baskets on their back were loitering around the bus stop hoping that some tourist would pay them money to carry their bags up the mountain. Sedan chairs were also on hand for those in need. We like to think we packed light enough to be able to drag our packs up a mountain... and we did ... eventually.

:: Remember - no nails (but hopefully foundations) ::

Tourism has taken this little Zhuang village over, most of the houses have been turned into wooden hotels and guesthouses. When we were there the locals were in from the fields,using the low season downtime to construct new hotels and restaurants. Some of the construction looked very precariously balanced and there were steep drops down hundreds of feet everywhere. We pretty much had the whole village to ourselves in the evenings when the Chinese day trippers left on their tour buses.

The main attraction for tourists visiting this area is the terraced rice fields. Each season brings a different look to the slopes. The terraced fields are built on the slopes winding from the riverside up to the mountain top dividing the mountain into layers. This complicated irrigation and farming tradition has been in place for 800 years. About 66 square kilometers of rice terraces are built into the hillsides. It looks like great ribbons or chains that wind from the foot to the top of the hill. It's amazing to look around 360 degrees and see the impressive sight of terrace upon terrace.

:: Ping'an villages nestled amongst terraces ::

On our first day in Ping'an we hiked the paths around the area to look out over the various viewpoints. Along the way we met the local indigenous Yao women huddled around little fires selling dried chillies, chili paste and handicrafts. Traditionally these women all have long long black hair, about 2 meters long (needless to say - much taller than themselves), that they wear wrapped up around their head in a scarf. Even the old women keep their hair long - and there's not a strand of grey to be seen. If the price is right these ladies will gladly "let their hair down" for a photo opportunity. Apparently their village has an entry in the Guinness book of records for the Longest Hair Village.

The following morning we got up hoping do a hike over to another local village but a dense blanket of fog brought low visibility and really cold weather. It was too nippy to hang around hoping for things to improve so we headed back down the mountain for the bus to Longsheng. Our plan from here was to move through several minority villages heading up into Guizhou Province.