9 Days South China Rice Terraces and Ethnic Culture Tour to Yuanyang and Longji Rice Terraces

This tour shows you two different rice terraces culture and views in Longji and Yuanyang. At the same time, you will see different etinic minorities of China-Zhuang Minority and Hani Minority. Different from the Longji Rice Terraces, the Yuanyang Rice Terraces do not have so many layers, but they are outstanding for their grandiose area with shallower slopes. 

Highlights:

  • Have a chance to stay a night locally at Ping’an Ethnic Village so that you have more time to enjoy the beauty of Longji Rice Terrace on the next day;
  • Be enchanted by the breathtaking Karst scenery while taking the relaxing cruise (about 4 hours) from Guilin to Yangshuo;
  • Trekking along Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces and have a bird view the overwhelming landscape;
  • Step into ethnic villages to experience Hani Culture and their authentic life;
  • Lose yourself into the enthralling sunrise view of Duoyishu Rice Terraces and sunset view of Laohuzui;
  • Explore Jianshui Ancient Town and experience the confucius culture in Jianshui Confucius Temple.

Brief Itinerary

  • Day 1: Guilin arrival
  • Day 2: Guilin-Yangshuo
  • Day 3: Yangshuo-Longsheng
  • Day 4: Longsheng-Guilin-Kunming 
  • Day 5: Kunming – Jianshui
  • Day 6: Jianshui – Yuanyang
  • Day 7: Yuanyang
  • Day 8: Yuanyang – The Stone Forest – Kunming
  • Day 9: Kunming Departure

Google Map

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Guilin Arrival

Sightseeing and Activities: Guilin arrival
Accommodation: Guilin
Meals: none

Arirrived Guilin ,the driver and guide will meet you in the airport or train station , and transfer to hotel. Stay overnight at Guilin.

Day 2 Guilin-Yangshuo

Sightseeing and Activities: Li River Cruise, West Street
Accommodation: Yangshuo
Meals: breakfast

In the early morning drive to Mopan hill wharf to take Li river cruise by boat,the cruise will take around 4.5 hours and lunch on the boat. You will enjoy the most beautiful mountain and clear water on the cruise.Upon arrival Yangshuo, some free time  on the west street ,and then you can choose a bike ride to the nice countryside along the yulong river.Stay overnight in yangshuo.

Lijiang River originates from Cat Mountain in Xing’an County in the north of Guilin. It flows 437 kms down Guilin, Yangshou, Pingle and Wuzhou into the West River. Between Guilin and Yangshuo, Lijiang River travels 83 kilometres exactly like a jade ribbon winding among thousands of grotesque peaks. Along the river banks are the spectacular landscapes and elegant hills, the towering peaks, the variegated cliffs and odd-shaped crags reflected in the mirror of its crystal-clear water and the wonderful deep pools, running springs and flying waterfalls everywhere. The reflections of the hills in clear and greenish water are like bright and beautiful pictures. “One hundred miles Lijiang River, one hundred miles art gallery,” A lot of excellent poems and literal works in modern or ancient appreciate ger beauty. Han Yu , a great poet in Tang Dynasty, had written a popular poem to praise the beautiful scenery of Lijiang River. The river winds like a blue silk ribbon,While the hills erect like green jade hairpins.

Day 3 Yangshuo-Longsheng

Sightseeing and Activities: Longji Rice Terraces, local ethnic villages
Accommodation: Longsheng
Meals: breakfast

Morning the guide and driver will pick you up then head to Longji Rice Terraces for the splendid rice terraces and local ethnic minority villages. It will take more than 2 hours from Guilin . Then spend most of the day to hike around minority village.Stay overnight at Longji guest house.

The scenery area of Longsheng Longji terrace with 700 years of history, built initially in Yuan Dynasty, consisting mainly of Ping’an Zhuang minority terrace and jinkeng Hongyao terrace is a famous scenery spot of Guangxi, the rime of Zhuang, Yao minority’s diligence and intelligence, the movement of the earth. The whole scenery area is picturesque, full of groups of waterfalls and takes on different verves in four seasons. The people of Zhuang, Yao minority here live in wooden buildings with cyan tiles from generation to generation, with man cultivating and woman weaving, simple and kind. Jinzhu Zhuang Village was honored “model of Northen Zhuang” by UNESCO. Huangluo Yao Village was awarded The Prize of Longest Hair of Group Female, a great number of cultural relics remain in Longji Zhuang Village up to now. The beautiful scenery of Longji are countless, able to make people forget to go back.

Day 4 Longsheng-Guilin-Kunming by High Speed Train

Sightseeing and Activities
Accommodation:Kunming
Meals: breakfast

Get up early in the morning and  enjoy the sun rise in Longji terrace. Walk around the village. Then transfer to Guilin Railway Station for your high speed train to Kunming.

Day 5 Kunming -Jianshui

Sightseeing and Activities
Accommodation:Jianshui
Meals: breakfast

Drive to Jianshui (4-5hrs ). You will visit Shuanglong Birdge and Tuanshan Village as well as the Garden of Family Zhang in Tuanshan Village. Tuanshan Village is a rare surviving example of an intact-albeit neglected-traditional walled Yunnan village compound in southwestern China, and has been added to the 2005 list of internationally significant sites by the World Memorial Fund for Architecture (WMF), an international fund for the protection of world heritage sites. Later , you’ll visit the Jianshui Old Town and the Chaoyang Gateway Tower, which was built in Ming Dynasty (1389). It is also known as ‘Miniature Tian’an men’ because the out shape of it is similar to Tian’anmen Square in Beijing.

Day 6 Jianshui-Yuanyang

Sightseeing and Activities
Accommodation:Yuanyang
Meals: breakfast

In the morning, visit Jianshui Confucius Temple, which has a history of 700 years. It is the second largest Confucius Temple in China. Then visit Zhu Family Garden.

In the afternoon, you will transfer to Yuanyang. You will visit Qingkou Village and rice terraces where Hani people for generations inhabit. Visit Bada Hani Rice Terraceand enjoy the sight of terraced fields of Bada at sunset.

Day 7 Yuanyang

Sightseeing and Activities
Accommodation:Yuanyang
Meals: breakfast

Duoyishu Rice Terraces in Yuanyang County,Honghe-20

Get up very early in the morning, you’ll drive to visit Duoyishu Village and enjoy the sunrise of Duoyishu Rice Terrace Fields when the sun appears above the eastern horizon. The terraced fields are ring upon ring and cascade one by one. They go along the hillside up to the sky. You will see the scenery of the terraced fields from the top of the mountains to the bottom. They are all farms under the sunshine and cloud and mist. The landscape is spectacular. And then, you will visit local ethnic market as well.

In the afternoon, pay a visit the Azheke Hani Village to see the original mushroom houses and see their life. Then visit Aichun blue rice terraces and enjoy the sunset view of the other rice terraces around.

Day 8 Yuanyang-Shilin-Kunming

Sightseeing and Activities
Accommodation:Kunming
Meals: breakfast

Morning, you will depart to the Stone Forest( 5-6hrs ). There is a local saying: ‘It is a waste of time not to visit the Stone Forest while visiting Kunming’, which vividly expresses the deep love of the local people toward this world wonder. The quintessential karst landscape makes every tourist lost in it’s wonder. After the tour, drive back to Kunming (1.5hrs ) in the late afternoon.

Day 9 Kunming Departure

Sightseeing and Activities: Kunming Departure
Accommodation:none
Meals: breakfast

Transfer to Kunming airport for departure. Service ends.

Service Included:

  • Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
  • Meals as listed in the itinerary;
  • Hotels as listed in the itinerary;
  • Private English-speaking tour guide;
  • Private vehicle for transfers & sightseeing with skilled driver;
  • Service charge & government taxes;
  • Bullet train tickets from Guilin to Kunming.

Service Excluded:

  • Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
  • Chinese visa fees;
  • Tips to guides and drivers;
  • Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff;
  • Personal travel accident insurance;
  • All optional programs.