Beijing to Guilin

Study hard John!
Minding his turtles.


Lynsay and Bill were kind enough to make sure we got back to the Beijing airport in time to catch our connecting flight to Guilin - only to find out it was delayed! We weren't looking forward to getting on another airplane after stepping off the 14 + hour flight about 6 hours earlier, but to hear it was delayed was even more of a bad dream! Our sweet guardians wouldn't leave our side until they knew we understood exactly what to do and where to go etc... We were exhausted and sitting around the Beijing airport wasn' t what we had in mind at that point. Finally at about 10:00 p.m. our flight was ready for departure to Guilin.

3 hours later, we landed and it was HOT and we haven't stopped sweating since! We finally checked into our hotel at about 2 a.m. Sunday morning China time. Our new guide is Theresa and she is a local resident of the Guilin vicinity. Theresa is 29 years old and unmarried. Theresa is also amazing. She was at the airport with a driver and we felt immediately as if we knew her.. actually anyone that would drive us to our hotel and let us go to bed we would have loved immediately! :) Theresa however had no mercy and told us to be ready at 9:00 am (keep in mind it was after 2:30 am when we finally got to sleep after being 2 days).

After a quick bite of breakfast at the hotel we were off for about a 2 1/2 hour trip into the Longsheng Autonomous County. So just what is the Longsheng Autonomous County?

Read on...

be sure to scroll all the way down to see what John observed he might be doing if he doesn't get a college degree..


The road to Longsheng from Guilin was not for those that are predisposed to a little carsickness.. (understatement galore!) Factor in the oncoming traffic that passes right before the curves and drop offs of hundreds of feet down -without guardrails. Yee Haw!

We arrived at the village and we got our first taste of peddlers attempting to sell us everything from postcards to fans. John quickly picked up the Chinese word for "no thank you" (pronounced "Boo Yow") and then learned that they still don't understand that! :)

The walk to the village was up a fairly steep hill and then another climb reminiscent of a mini great wall with uneven steps, steep inclines, and curves. Waiting at the bottom of this little hike were "bamboo taxis"powered by 2 men. If you don't want to climb, they will carry you! I can't imagine doing this all day long 7 days a week! It was quite a climb without carrying anything let alone an adult person in a bamboo chair! Never mind the 90+ degree temps (and even hotter as the season progresses!) and mega humidity! These guys must be some of the most physically fit men in the world. Seriously! There were a few men who looked to be well into their 60s doing this! I've never seen anything like it.

We explained to John this could be an option for him if he chooses not to get an advanced degree.

The highlight of the Guilin experience is on tap for tomorrow~!

Did I mention we are exhausted?!

Here's a bit more about the rice terrace village that we visited...



There are many ethnic minority groups living in Longji. Among them, the Yao, Zhuang, and Miao are the three largest groups.

It is reported that the Yao women only cut their hair once in their lifetimes. They cut it just prior to the marrying age and thus an outward sign that they are looking for a husband. It is also rumored that they wash their hair once every 2 days and use rice water as conditioner which is what gives their hair amazing shine and gloss.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), many minority groups were forced to flee to the mountains. Being primarily an agricultural society, they needed to find a way to continue agriculture on the steep sides of the mountains. They ingeniously turned the mountains into fields by creating the terraced fields. The entire mountains are covered with rice fields, from far below to the peaks, making Longji a very unique and picturesque scenic spot.

Here you can see the terraced rice fields that look snow covered. What you are actually seeing however is rice!

Colorful costumes of these minority groups add a bright splash of color to the terraced rice fields as they go about their work of growing rice. The Yao women wear bright pink embroidered clothing with heavy silver earrings. They are famous for their extremely long hair and are listed in the Guiness Book of World's Records. The Zhuang women wear white shirts, black pants, and brightly colored cloth on their heads.


The Miao women wear colorful short jackets with short pleated skirts, and on special occasions wear large amounts of silver jewelry, and adornments. This clothing is worn on a daily basis. It is an unforgettable site to see the minority women working the fields in all of their finery.