By Jarek

Longji titian—the “dragon’s spine rice terraces”—are one of the most impressive sights we ever found in China. It was not the easiest place to get to, but thankfully the boys are turning into quite rough and ready travelers, so it was totally worth it. We also lucked out with a friend who provided a travel agent who helped us arrange everything to be as convenient as possible.

The trip from Guangzhou required a 25 minute drive to the high speed rail station, a 3+ hour train to Guilin, and a two hour drive into the mountains. Pretty much every time I get out of the city I fall in love with China again. The first hour of the drive from Guilin, we passed all sorts of tropical fruit orchards covering the hilltops with pomelos and dragonfruit. After purchasing our tickets for entry to the “tourist zone” at the mouth of a canyon, we started winding our way between green cliffs, passing small waterfalls and blue-grey rapids.

Our driver (probably because someone had paid him to), stopped us in the first village we came to so we could appreciate the culture of the Yao ethnic minority who lived there. He showed us through the old wooden house of a grandma who was happy to let us walk around and take pictures until she realized we really weren’t going to buy any trinkets from her; then she said, “No pictures!” Fair enough.

We strolled through the village, smiling and nodding at the many vendors trying to get us to buy this or that. The Yao women have a tradition of never cutting their hair, but when a woman dies, her daughters cut it and weave it in with their own. As a result, they have long, beautiful black hair which they wrap around heads quite impressively. To tourists they offer to let it down, show it off, and put it back up with a traditional combing song for small amounts of money. I smiled and declined these offers as we traversed the village, but one lady won me over. Her traditional skirt, imitation Gucci t-shirt and willingness to just walk and talk with us without selling anything melted my heart, I guess. So on our way back through the village, we agreed to a performance and everyone came out of the woodwork. More women would be more beautiful, they said, but would cost more money. We joked and teased and haggled about price until I finally gave in and just paid everyone who wanted to join. Even then it was only 200 rmb, or about $25. They pulled on their coats, gathered along the river, and began:

It was a fun start to our trip. Positive interactions like that mean the world to me and are the number one thing that keeps us loving China. I won’t put here what I think of China’s government, but we sure love the Chinese people.

We wrapped up in that village (no pun intended) and carried on to our hotel. We wanted to pick something a little off the beaten path, so we went to a farther village called Dazhai. The driver got lost trying to find it; goal achieved, I guess. But all’s well that ends well, and the hotel owner came out in the rain with extra umbrellas to lead us on.

Pretty much as soon as we set foot in the village we felt excited. The rain and mist were obscuring our views but the little bits we could see were tantalizing. The green of rice fields is one of the best colors in the world, and shrouded in cloud the steep slopes were breathtaking.

Our hotel was great. Modern? No. Fancy? No. But great. It was built entirely of wood, which is pretty much unheard of for Chinese buildings. Our room was on the top floor, and almost the entire exterior wall was just glass. The view did the rest.

The hotel owner was kind and very glad that we spoke Chinese. A played with her son, also about 4 years old. Meals in the common room were very traditional local food. Not only did the hotel have a great view, but it was along a path that we first followed up to an overlook and then down into the terraced ravine. They didn’t have a crib, so we were thankful we’d gone to the trouble of lugging our pack’n’play all the way up there.

Two nights there was just right. If it had been only Kaylee and I, we probably could have stayed another night or two for some more far-ranging hikes, but for the boys it was perfect. They got their fill of hiking a full day, and we got our fill of hiding under the covers while T refused to fall asleep.

Highlights for A included:

• Slipping and sliding our way out along a muddy path into the terraces themselves. The view from out there was spectacular, but it was a four- or five-foot drop to the terrace below and so slippery that by the time we went back I pretty much gave up trying to stay on the raised path and just squelched through the oversaturated mud of the field itself. A thought it was hilarious.
• Befriending a sweet girl in a “Western-themed” café who spoke English. Not only could she communicate with him, but she sold him pizza and ice cream. Win-win!
• Taking pictures of the people who got in his face. With his blue eyes and blond hair, A is very popular with Chinese tourists. He got a little revenge this time by taking his own pictures of them. They’re a good reminder for us of what life is like for him here sometimes, too.

Drawback for A:

• Coming across a giant millipede at the end of another long, wet hike that he hadn’t wanted to go on in the first place. He had a meltdown and we headed back. He’s a trooper about putting up with our adventure travel (which is why our next trip was for him: Shanghai Disneyland).

All told, this was a great trip. Traveling with kids is definitely not relaxing, but I still find it restorative. We still find adventure. We still have fun. I like to think we’re all better for it. And especially in this case, the Longji Rice Terraces were worth every effort.