Longsheng Travel Guide

  Meeting on the trail
by melosh
 
  • Meeting on the trail
      Meeting on the trail
    by melosh
  •   Longsheng
    by Willettsworld
  • Yao women letting their hair down
      Yao women letting their hair down
    by Willettsworld
  •   Longsheng
    by melosh
  • Around the cooking fire
      Around the cooking fire
    by melosh
 

Pro

hooiluangoh profile photo

  Time has stopped since 1350 


Con

AndreaPrice profile photo

  Be prepared for hagglers, especially of you as part of a tourist group. 


In a nutshell

AndreaPrice profile photo

  Must visit and stay at least one night. 

 

Explore Longsheng

Things to Do  

Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces

Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  The second half of my day-trip from Guilin included seeing the famous Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. After visiting the Huanglao Yao Minority Village in the morning, we took another smaller bus up the hill and then walked past some souvenir stalls to get up to a little... 

Ping'an

Ping'an, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  Ping'an is probably the most famous and, therefore, most touristy village in the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces region. Ping'an is wonderful as it features some more beautiful wooden houses that are perched on the slopes and which can only be accessed by winding tracks as... 

Huanglao Yao Minority Village - The Yao

Huanglao Yao Minority Village - The Yao, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  Huanglao Yao Minority Village is located in Longsheng County, about 93km (56 miles) north-west of Guilin near the famous Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. The village is home to the Yao ethnic minority, one of China's 56 minority people. I came here on a day tour from Guilin... 

Hiking

Hiking, Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  While Ping'An is by no means off the beaten path in China, assessed by the souvenir vendors and touts that reach the level of harassment, it's still not a hugely popular destination in the winter. If you're in China and want to see rice terraces, there are plenty to see... 

Hotels  

Longji Star-wish Resort

 11 Opinions

Restaurants  

Bamboo steamed chicken and rice

Bamboo steamed chicken and rice, Longsheng

 melosh Says:  At one of the many small hotel-restaurants in Pang'an I followed the advice of a group of departing Chinese tourists and ordered the area's famous chicken and rice cooked in bamboo. Even though this place was small, they had a menu with English translation and the same price... 

Countryside Inn and Cafe: Ping'An

Countryside Inn and Cafe: Ping'An, Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  These guys are, I bet, a bigger-city operation cashing in on the tourist dollar. That being said, they have internet and a nice restaurant that offers pizzas and other western food if the chicken heads in the hotpot get too much for you. They have a nice view of the area,... 

Transportation  

Sedan chair

Sedan chair, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  The climb up to Ping'an from where the bus drops you off is quite hard but there are some sedan chairs at the gate where the trail starts that you can take if you're not able to ascend up to Ping'an yourself. 

Bus from Guilin

Bus from Guilin, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  Huanglao Yao Minority Village and Ping'an are located in Longsheng County, about 93km (56 miles) north-west of Guilin. I came to both villages on a day tour from Guilin that I organised through where I was staying at the Backstreet Youth Hostel, which cost RMB160. The... 

Longsheng to Ping'an

Longsheng to Ping'an, Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  Longsheng is the gateway bus station to access Ping'an and the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. Look for the buses marked as in the accompanying image. The ride may be around 7 yuan, (Lonely Planet said 6.50) but there's a 50 yuan per person entrance fee into the park area... 

Longsheng Bus Station

Longsheng Bus Station, Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  The Longsheng long distance bus station isn't a huge place, but there's the typical apparent lack of order here anyway. If you don't know where you're going, however, ticket agents aren't as helpful as others such as bus drivers and ticket takers/checkers. 

Local Customs  

Bamboo rice

Bamboo rice, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  Rice steamed in bamboo seems to be a local custom here. In fact, I had some for lunch whilst in Ping'an that came with some vegetables and was very sticky and quite difficult to remove from the bamboo and eat. They split the bamboo in half for you. You'll see women cooking... 

Long hair

Long hair, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  The Yao women are very famous for having incredibly long hair which can measure up to 2.1m in length. Reason for it to be so long is that they only have their hair cut twice throughout their lives - once when they turn 18 and once again when they get married which is when... 

Getting your money!

Getting your money!, Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  What once had cultural significance, now must still retain some, to put up with the annoyance and maintenance, but still relies heavily on the tourist dollar for purpose. If you don't need a photo of their hair, they may also try to guide you, which can be helpful, of... 

Warnings Or Dangers  

Climb up to Ping'an and beyond

Climb up to Ping'an and beyond, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  The climb up to Ping'an from where the bus drops you off is quite hard but there are stalls along the way to take you mind off it plus you also can admire the views as you ascend. The whole area around Ping'an is very steep with tight, narrow tracks with poor surfaces so... 

Zhonglu... touts

Zhonglu... touts, Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  The touts in Zhonglu can be aggressive, persistant and annoying, to say the least. Yes, the women as well. They made for a really bad experience that may be dependent on the time of year we went (February- Spring Festival in China, but a seeming low season for this area). Or... 

Disabled Travelers...

Disabled Travelers..., Longsheng

 John195123 Says:  If you're handicapped, there are facilities for you to be carried in a litter at best, a chair between two poles at worst, though to really get around the village and surroundings, you'll need to be able to walk and be in decent shape at that. They don't have much in the way... 

Tourist Traps  

Pestered by natives

Pestered by natives, Longsheng

 gnil Says:  If you intend to walk around by yourself, the natives will approach you to offer their 'help'. They will 'help' you to carry your things and show you the way with a fee. Most of them will go away if you say no firmly to them. Some will keep on following you and you must be... 

What to Pack  

The higher you are...the colder it is...

The higher you are...the colder it is..., Longsheng

 myspices Says:  Travel light as you need to hike. Small backpack for day use. A cap. comfortable sneakers or sandals - good grip.a light overcoat or jacket or a shawl - nights could be cold normally those lodges up the hill do not provide toiletries or towels... bring your own. A sunblock... 

Favorites  

TV comes to Ping'an!

TV comes to Ping'an!, Longsheng

 Willettsworld Says:  As I was walking back down to the bus from Ping'an, I crossed over one of the covered bridges over a stream and on it were a couple of guys taking up around a dozen TV's to the village on yoke's across their shoulders with a boxed up TV at either end. Now TV's are pretty... 

Different Seasons, different Scenes

Different Seasons, different Scenes, Longsheng

 myspices Says:  The rice terraces look different during different seasons. When we were there, the rice grains were in the midst of turning to slight yellow...Come end October, they will all be in gold. What we can see now is mix of light green and yellow...The harvest month will have the... 

The Place

Plan a Longsheng vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Longsheng locals

Experience Longsheng
  •   93 Tips and Reviews
  •  286 Photos
  •  3 Videos
  Share your Travels  
Map of Longsheng
 

The People

 
Our Members Say
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 Take an express bus from the Guilin bus station bound for Longsheng bus terminal. The ticket is about RMB14. The journey takes about two hours.When you arrive... 

 

Questions and Answers

phcadilhac profile photo

Q:  would you have a reservation address for the hotel Panorama Hotel in Longsheng The same for Luyou Biguan hotel, still in... 

neverstoptravel profile photo

A: Actually there's no hotel on the top of terrace, but local residential called 'Da Zhai' similar to hostel. I don't think you need to book in advance. 

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Top Longsheng Writers

1

LONGSHENG - ONLY A STOP-OVER

myspices profile photo

 There is actually not much to look for in Longsheng. It is a place anyone who wishes to visit the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terrraces ("Longi Titian") has to come by as it is from here only you can get... 

2

Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces

afterglow profile photo

 I've got some interesting experiences in Longsheng. I'd love to share with you the 23 tips I've written, the 24 photos uploaded, and 0 travelogues I've created. 

3

Remote villages, rice terraces, ethnic minorities

hooiluangoh profile photo

 The village has probably 100 houses all built on the slopes of the hill. The villagers grow rice on terraces carved out of the slopes. And this practice has gone on since the Yuan Dynasty close to 700... 

4

Longji Titian (Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces)

mskwan profile photo

 I've got some interesting experiences in Longsheng. I'd love to share with you the 5 tips I've written, the 8 photos uploaded, and 0 travelogues I've created. 

5

Longsheng, Ping'An and Zhongliu

John195123 profile photo

 Individual tips will be marked by location! (Ping'An- Restaurant) Lonsheng isn't much. There are a few hotels and restaurants on the street, a bus station and maybe even something to do. It's mostly... 

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