Before going to Longji Rice Terraces, I had been to Jiuzhaigou and seen the rice terraces there. I was captivated by them and couldn’t help but seek out different rice terraces to see their construction. Before this trip, I specifically learned that it was the best season for farming, making the terraces particularly significant. Now, let’s explore this amazing creation of nature together!
The farmer who is working is a spirit of the land.
This time, I traveled to Longji, a place that is most beautiful during spring plowing and irrigation. I wanted to see it at its most beautiful, even though I’m past my prime.
After a few hours of driving, I arrived at Longji. I was going to get to know the Longji Rice Terraces of Guangxi, built in the Yuan Dynasty and completed in the early Qing Dynasty, with a history of over 650 years. It’s more than just a few rice paddies.
The ancestors who built the terraces probably never imagined that the terraces they carved out of the land with blood, sweat, and tears would become such a charming and elegant world of curves.
These vast curves take two days to traverse, walking and talking with them along the way. I know it’s too rushed, but I finally stood on the Longji Rice Terraces.
Longji has three major terraced rice fields: Guzhuang Village, Ping’an Village, and Jinkeng Village. We didn’t go to Guzhuang Village, but we went to Changfa Village at its foot.
An old woman with long black hair
The women in Changfa Village all have long, shiny black hair. They bun it up and cover it with black cloth, so it doesn’t seem different. But if they open their headbands, you’ll be amazed. The waist-length hair we normally talk about is just a small fish compared to this.
Their hair is 1 to 2 meters long, and the village is known as the “Village of the Longest Hair in China.” In 2002, the village received a Guinness World Record certificate for collective long hair.
The hair of the village’s 60-plus women averages 1.5 meters, and it’s as black as ink. No matter how old they are, they basically never have gray hair.
I heard that they wash their hair with rice water and other fermented plant water. The abundant vitamins in rice water, as well as its weak acidity, prolong the growth period of their hair, delaying the regression and resting phases. This has been passed down from generation to generation, so the genetic makeup is naturally passed on. This may be the reason for the miracle of Changfa Village.
Butterflies on the rice terraces
We went from Changfa Village to the Ping’an and Jinkeng Rice Terraces. The terraces are like chains and belts, wrapping around the mountain peaks like giant snails.
The terraces on the mountain are stacked on top of each other, large and small, like inlaid jade stones, giving a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur. It’s no wonder they’re known as the “Crown of Terraced Rice Fields.”
The original inhabitants of Longji are mostly Yao and Zhuang people. Their stilt houses are built on mountaintops or hillsides, mostly wooden. Judging by the number of wooden houses, not many residents live in the mountains. How do they take care of the terraces that stretch across the entire mountain? How do they inherit the hoe from their ancestors and cultivate the land day after day, year after year?
I think they can only manage the terraces in an orderly and vibrant way by working early and late every day. They haven’t abandoned a single piece of land for 650 years. This is because of their love for the land, their dependence on rice, and their belief in the inheritance of their ancestral occupation.
Looking at the Jinkeng Rice Terraces that surround me, I think of the Red Land of Dongchuan in Yunnan. They are all unique, but they are all masterpieces created by generations of farmers who have faced the loess and turned their backs to the sky. They are the places where farmers make their living.
Longji is beautiful from every angle, and even the most advanced phones or cameras can only capture a glimpse of it. To capture its beauty, besides aerial photography, you can sit there and quietly feel its grandeur, let the magnificence enter your eyes, and let the tranquility enter your heart.
Jinkeng Village Rice Terraces after rain
We arrived at the Jinkeng Rice Terraces in the rain and found that they didn’t have as much irrigation as the Ping’an Rice Terraces. The water stored at the top of the mountain needs to be filled from top to bottom, which takes 10 days or more. When the terraces are full of water, they reflect the sky and look like silver ribbons stacked on top of each other. It will be even better then.
The Longji Plow Opening Ceremony will be held on the 3rd of next month, and it will be a lively and bustling event. I like quietness, so I came early to enjoy the peace, coolness, and comfort of a rainy walk. It’s perfect like this.
During my two-day trip to Longji, we missed out on the sunshine, but we unexpectedly encountered a sea of clouds. We felt lucky to have run into this rare sight.
The mountain range in the mist
At 5 pm, standing on the No. 2 viewing platform of the Jinkeng Rice Terraces, we saw a thick sea of white clouds drifting from the opposite mountain, engulfing us. The world of curves, once clearly visible, was instantly covered. We were in a world of white, with visibility less than 50 meters. The drifting clouds made us feel like we were in a spiritual fairy palace.
Cotton and I couldn’t help but shout to the sea of clouds a few times, then dragged Sister Juan to hurry back.
Night fell, and the sound of frogs and crickets filled the night with a beautiful melody. I fell asleep to the beautiful music, without saying a word.
On the way out of the rice terraces, the driver said that Longji is even more beautiful in autumn, not only is the sun shining, but there are fields of golden rice.
I am busy capturing its beauty
But we all know that we are only capturing a moment of its beauty. Longji gives us a different visual impact in each of the four seasons. If I have time, I’ll come back in the fall. Will Longji be another kind of beauty then? I am really looking forward to it.
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