Not everything in China is being manufactured in a factory. Ridiculously high up in the mountains in an area outside Guilin – called Longsheng – you will find the locals farming rice against the slopes. Typically there is a water dam on the highest point of each terrace. China has no shortage of land yet – relocate dammit. They are staying, as the climate allows for two crops a year and in between they get to fleece oxygen deprived tourists, who find the scenery beautiful.
In essence, it is a ethnic minority village and the locals go about their daily lives, unperturbed by the tourists walking past. Not really “walking”, more huffing-and-puffing as level ground is very welcomed, but scarcely spaced apart. An endless maze of steps lures you high and higher up into the mountain.
The process to go up into the mountain is rather interesting. You make your way to the ticket office (or in our case, our tour company drove us there: about 2 hours’ drive outside Guilin) and then you are driven up the narrow and winding mountain pass by a local hell driver …
Continue reading China – part 12 (of 20).