Longji Rice Terraces, Ping'an, China

To kick off our vacation we stayed in Ping'an, a small community north of Guilin famous for the Longji rice terraces. It was incredibly green! Since we had arrived the night before, we were able to head up first thing in the morning to take in the view. Of course it took us a long time to get to the viewpoint on account of our constant stopping to take pictures;)

I love the dogs here! For some reason they are so zen. I have yet to see a dog misbehaving. This one reminded me of Naomi's beloved Bolt, so I snapped a few pictures for her.

We encountered several huge, scary spiders while in Longji. One we narrowly escaped in the stairwell at our hotel. When we brought it to the attention of the owner she grabbed it in the palm of her hand and threw it out the window. Brave woman!

While I was snapping this photo a group of Chinese tourists walked by and their tour guide told them (in Mandarin) that "Westerners love to photograph things like this - people carrying grass." Yep. That's why I came to China, to see people carrying grass. I guess we can go home now:)

The weather is constantly changing in Longji. This area is famous for its creeping mists.

On our way up to the lookout Jon posed with some locals dressed in the traditional Miao costume.

This was the rail at one overlook. I'm pretty sure it says something like, "Ping was here."

These Yao women will pose with you...for a price:) They are famous for their long hair. As they took out their buns I discovered the real secret...

...she had two long (cut) ponytails which she wrapped into her own hair for her bun! They looked like horse tails! eeeeehh!

The viewpoint of Seven Stars and One Moon

On the way back down April & I dressed in the Miao costumes.

The pathway through the village was peppered with souvenir stands. I had some fun haggling:)

After coming back down from the viewpoint we started hunting for lunch. We considered this place...

...until we saw what was on the menu...

...snakes, cobra, and a rat monster!!!

I have no idea what this really is, but they said it is "like" a rat. He looked like a really big guinea pig with a long rat tail. Yum???

One of the local specialties is rice steamed in bamboo. Pretty good stuff.

We really loved the village and rice terraces. It was a world away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. What an incredible place. That afternoon we said goodbye to Longji and headed to Guilin for the second part of our adventure.