The Mountains are the back of a dragon. The fields are the staircase amidst clouds.

Longji, the scenic area that features enormous acreages of terraced rice fields, was the most anticipated part of the trip to Guilin for me. The best-known sceneries of Guilin are the karst peak-hugging, waterfront views at different sections of the Li River. Longji’s terraced rice fields present a nice departure from the core selections of Guilin tourism. But no, it is not, in any way, a path less traveled. Longji is also a hot touristy spot during the high season for traveling in Guilin.

The above-quoted saying is the locals’ expression of awe at the beautiful scenery in Longji. Having visited the Jinkeng Terraced Fields, I must say that the scenery does live up to its good repute.

The History of the Longji Terraced Rice Field

It is said that the terraced rice fields of Longji have had 2,300 years of history. Since the Qin dynasty, the villagers have broken the grounds on the mountain slopes to till rice in these terraced fields. The villagers significantly broadened the scale of terraced rice farming during the Tang and Song dynasties. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the terraced fields of this area have achieved the scale that we see today.

Our guide Xiaohuang emphasized to me that this wonderful view of the villagers’ farming practice was the result of generations of work, and the historical character of these fields is apparent to any observer.

There are a few large areas of terraced rice fields in Longji for tourists. The Jinkeng Terraced Fields is the largest one, and naturally we went to that one. From the foot of the mountain, we took a cable car for about 15-20 minutes to see the wide aerial views of the fields. Do note that you should began taking photographs on the cable car, as it presents some pretty exciting views already.

As to the other terraced rice fields in the area, the Pingan (meaning “peace”) fields and the Guzhuangzhai fields are tended by the Zhuang ethnic minority. If given the opportunity, I would like to visit those in the future.

The Jinkeng Terraced Fields

Jinkeng, meaning “a golden pit” in Chinese, acquired its name because of its large scale in terraced farming. In harvest times, the panicles of the rice crop spread throughout the mountainous fields. One can imagine that the scene is a sea of goldenness, manifesting the glory of abundance.

The scale of the terraces bespeaks the innovation and insight into the villagers’ difficult survival against nature and limiting circumstances. Yet they have amply surmounted the difficulty of having lost the turf wars and being relegated to the mountainous region.

Mostly situated at an altitude of 800 – 1,500 meters, the terraced rice fields are the only land available for farming for the villages. All along the rolling mountain ridges, from the foot to the top, the terraced fields stack one step further from the other along the meander of the natural contours of the slopes. The highest vertical distance between the top fields and the bottom fields is 800 meters.

Each level of the terrace is about 3-5 feet wide. Because rice is a semi-aquatic crop, the view of the terraced fields during planting season comes with beautiful reflections glimmering under natural light. The mountainous breezes gently stroke the slender stalks of the panicles. You may run into the ethnic minority villagers tending the fields in that time as well.

Sources suggest that there are 450 recorded crops that had been grown in the terraced fields of Longji, besides rice.

A Tour at the Jinkeng Terraced Fields

After getting off the cable car, we spent about an hour’s time snapping photographs of the scenery. There is a large viewing area enabling near-360 views of the fields. The viewing platform comes with a number of souvenir shops and some establishments for food. The building is well designed to meet the “ethnic minority architecture” vibe, as such it is itself photogenic.

A reminder is that tourists should not veer off course from the viewing platform area and venture out to the fields. I do believe that they are off bounds to non-villagers. You do not want to cause damage to their crops and you also do not want to run the risk of falling off the sometimes-steep contours of the terraces.

For those who would like to do sunrise or sunset photographs, consider staying at the properties available on site. There are quite a few and the rooms come with fantastic views.

Sources

Baidu.com’s Baike on The Longji Terraced Fields (Chin).