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🇨🇳 Guilin · Longji 龙脊 · Longsheng 龙胜

Longji Rice Terraces, Guilin
The Dragon's Backbone, once in a lifetime

About 2 hours north of Guilin, the Zhuang and Yao peoples have been carving rice terraces into these hillsides for more than 600 years — ridge upon ridge of curving steps that people came to call the "Dragon's Backbone." This guide helps you choose between Ping'an and Dazhai, time the terraces to the right season, and plan the trip from Guilin without missing the famous gold.

The terraces

What the Longji rice terraces are — and why they belong on your list

Most people come to Guilin for the Li River cruise, but if you ask which image of Guilin the whole world recognises, the answer is the Longji rice terraces (龙脊) — paddies that the Zhuang and Yao peoples carved into the hillsides one step at a time over more than 600 years, from the Yuan to the Qing dynasty. The curves of the fields follow the ridgelines and stack into ribbons that look like scales on a dragon's back, which is how they got the name "Longji," meaning the Dragon's Backbone.

Longji sits in Longsheng (龙胜) county, about 2 hours by road north of Guilin — not a place you can reach by direct train. You have to go by tour or bus (more on that below). The main sightseeing area splits into two zones, and the question everyone asks is which one to visit: Ping'an (平安), the classic, easier-to-reach Zhuang village, and Dazhai/Jinkeng (大寨/金坑), the Yao village with wider terraces and a cable car.

Here's the thing about Longji: it isn't equally beautiful every month. The fields change colour with the farming cycle — the mirror water that reflects the sky after planting, the deep green of summer, and the most famous of all, the gold of the harvest around mid-September. So making the most of Longji isn't a matter of "any day will do" — it's about matching the season to the picture you want. This guide helps you plan the zone, the season and how to get there all at once.

The Longji rice terraces near Longsheng, Guilin — rice paddies stacked in ribbons along the ridgelines like a dragon's backbone
The Longji rice terraces — paddies the Zhuang and Yao peoples carved into the hillsides over more than 600 years, the "Dragon's Backbone"
🐉
What it is
Longji rice terraces (龙脊)
The "Dragon's Backbone," paddies stacked up the hills
🗺️
Where
Longsheng (龙胜) county
~2 hrs by road north of Guilin · no direct train
🏘️
Two main zones
Ping'an · Dazhai/Jinkeng
Zhuang village (easier) · Yao village (has cable car)
🎟️
Entry ticket
~¥80–100 (~฿400–500)
Paid once, covers both zones
🌾
Gold harvest
Mid-Sept to early Oct
Mirror water ~mid-Apr–Jun · green in summer
🚡
Cable car
Dazhai zone only
Up to Golden Buddha Peak ~¥100–110 return
Decide before you go

Ping'an or Dazhai — choose the zone that fits your trip

The first question everyone faces is "which area?" The two zones differ clearly — in how much you walk, the views and the culture. Pick by the time and the legs you have.

If you only have one day and don't want a heavy hike, start with Ping'an. If you have time and want wider, more dramatic terraces — or you want to stay over for sunrise — go for Dazhai. And if you have two full days, you can do both, because the views really are from completely different angles.

What to see

The key sights of Longji — viewpoints, the cable car and ethnic villages

⭐ Ping'an: Seven Stars Around the Moon (七星伴月) and Nine Dragons Five Tigers (九龙五虎)

Ping'an's two viewpoints are the heart of the zone. Seven Stars Around the Moon is a round, moon-shaped terrace in the centre, ringed by seven small piles of rocks the villagers left while digging the fields — from a distance it looks like seven stars accompanying the moon. Nine Dragons and Five Tigers is the lookout where the ridges split into nine ribbons that resemble dragons bowing to drink, with five small hills said to crouch like tigers. You reach both by climbing steps up from Ping'an village, around 20–40 minutes each depending on your pace; start with the nearer one, then walk to the far one.

🚡 Dazhai: the cable car to Golden Buddha Peak (金佛顶)

The Dazhai/Jinkeng zone has something Ping'an doesn't: a cable car up to the highest, widest viewpoint in Longji — Golden Buddha Peak (金佛顶). The gondola leaves from the Dazhai car park and takes about 20 minutes to the top, costing around ¥60 one way or ¥100–110 (about ฿500–550) for a round trip. If your legs aren't up to it, or time is tight, ride up to Golden Buddha Peak and walk down through the other viewpoints — you'll see the whole Jinkeng valley of terraces from above, a view many people find more dramatic than Ping'an. (Ticket prices change with the season, so check on site.)

💁‍♀️ Huangluo long-hair village (黄洛瑶寨)

On the way in to Ping'an you pass Huangluo long-hair village, a Red Yao village where the women grow their hair long by a tradition handed down through generations — many of them over a metre, which earned the village a Guinness World Record as "the world's first long-hair village." There is a Yao cultural performance here, with hair-combing and traditional song and dance. It's a chance to see indigenous life up close — just visit with respect, ask before photographing people, and remember this is a real community where people live, not a stage set.

🏡 Zhuang and Yao life — wooden houses, homestays and culture on the terraces

What makes Longji special isn't only the terraces but the Zhuang and Yao villages still living up here. Traditional three-storey wooden houses line the slopes, many of them now guesthouses and local restaurants. Walk through a village and you'll see people growing rice, weaving and selling local goods. Local dishes worth trying include rice cooked inside bamboo tubes and Longji black-feathered chicken. To see what Guilin eats, read our Guilin local cuisine guide and try oil tea (youcha), the local drink of the Longsheng area.

🌄 Why you should stay overnight on the terraces

Most visitors come and go in a single day, which works and is still beautiful — but if you can, we recommend a night in a guesthouse on the terraces, whether in Ping'an or Dazhai. The most beautiful time is the early morning and sunrise, when mist drifts over the fields and the first light catches the steps — something day-trippers never get to see. The other bonus is the late afternoon, once the tour groups have all left, when the village goes quiet and feels like yours alone. Terrace guesthouses start from a few hundred yuan a night; a room facing the fields is the one worth booking.

🌾⛰️
Illustrative scene of the gold harvest (mid-September to early October), when the whole Longji valley turns golden just before the villagers bring in the rice
When to go

Longji by season — match the month to the picture you want

The terraces change colour with the farming cycle and look quite different month to month. Knowing this before you go lets you pick the window that matches the image in your head.

💧 Mirror water reflecting the sky (~mid-Apr–Jun)

After the farmers plough the fields and flood them ready for planting, the terraces fill with water that mirrors the sky and clouds like a thousand panes of glass. Photographers love this window, especially in the soft morning and evening light, from roughly mid-April to June (the exact start depends on each year's rains). The mirror-water shot is at its best when the sky is clear with handsome clouds to reflect.

🌱 Deep green (summer, Jul–Aug)

Once the rice grows tall, the whole valley turns a vivid green — the lushest, most alive the mountains ever look. The trade-off is the hot, humid weather and the heaviest rain of the year. Downpours can shroud the views in mist or make walking hard, but the upside is fewer crowds than the gold season and that classic Chinese-painting mist drifting up after the rain.

🌾 The gold harvest (~mid-Sept to early Oct) — the most famous shot

This is the window that puts Longji on magazine covers and postcards worldwide — the ripe rice turns the entire valley shimmering gold before the villagers bring it in, around mid-September to early October (the exact dates shift with the weather each year). It is the most beautiful and the most crowded time at once. One caution: it overlaps with China's National Day Golden Week (1–7 October), when the whole country travels — book accommodation well ahead, and if you can, go a week before or after Golden Week for far smaller crowds.

❄️ A dusting of snow (winter, Dec–Feb)

In winter the fields lie bare after the harvest, but some years bring a light dusting of snow over the terraces — a rare and beautiful sight of a different kind. It's cold and often misty, with the fewest visitors of the year, ideal if you want quiet and don't mind fields without rice. Just be aware that snow doesn't come every year and the mountain road can get slippery, so check the weather and road conditions before you go.

In short: for the dream shot, go for mirror water in May–June or the gold harvest in mid-Sept to early Oct (avoiding Golden Week); if you'd rather have quiet and calm, winter has its own charm. For the city-wide picture of when to visit, read the best time to visit Guilin.

Where to stay

Where to base yourself — a guesthouse on the terraces or back in Guilin city

You have two options: stay over in a village on the terraces for sunrise, or day-trip and sleep comfortably in Guilin city — it depends on the rhythm of your trip.

If you want the early-morning mist and sunrise, you have to stay in a village on the terraces — Ping'an and Dazhai both have plenty of family-run guesthouses, some of them traditional wooden houses facing the fields, from a few hundred yuan a night; a room with a terrace view is the one worth choosing. The upside is you wake up to the fields; the catch is simpler facilities and dragging your bags up steps to get there (some guesthouses can arrange a porter — check before booking).

If you'd rather not stay up in the mountains, the easier option is to visit Longji on a day trip and come back to a hotel in Guilin city — especially if your trip also includes the Li River cruise and the city sights, where a city base is more flexible. Not sure which district to pick in the city? Read where to stay in Guilin for first-timers first, then compare real hotels below.

The 10 top-rated hotels in Guilin
City hotels ranked by real review scores — a comfortable base before or after Longji
See →
Where to stay in Guilin
City centre, the railway station, or out in Yangshuo — which area fits which trip
Read more →
The complete Guilin guide
Where to stay, what to see, how to get around and everything to know before Guilin
Read more →
How to get there

Getting to Longji from Guilin — your options

To say it again — no train runs directly to the Longji terraces. Everyone goes by tour or bus, then a local bus or a walk up to the village. Choose the method that fits your budget and how much convenience you want.

🚐
Tour / car with driver
The easiest way
Hotel pickup, taken up to the viewpoints, no transfers · book ahead
🚌
Direct bus from Qintan station
~¥50 (~฿250) · 2–2.5 hrs
Qintan (琴潭) bus station · a few services a day
🔁
Via Longsheng county
Bus to Longsheng, then switch
~1–1.5 hrs to Longsheng + ~1 hr local bus to the village
🎟️
Booking the bus
Passport holders buy at the station
Online booking is for Chinese ID holders · foreigners buy at the counter
🚶
On the terraces, mostly on foot
Climbing steps + cable car (Dazhai)
No vehicles on the terraces · porters for hire in some villages
⛰️
The mountain road
Winding and steep
Allow extra time · bring motion-sickness pills · check the weather
Tip: the easiest way for most visitors is a day tour with hotel pickup, so you don't have to gamble on bus times and local transfers. You can pay for the bus and entry by scanning Alipay or WeChat — see how to set it up in our Alipay/WeChat payment guide. To combine Longji with other trips out of town, see day trips from Guilin and the overview of sights on the best things to do in Guilin.
Plan your visit

A Longji itinerary — a day trip or an overnight

⏱️ As a day trip (out and back, one zone)

~07:30 — Leave Guilin by tour or an early bus; allow around 2 hours up the mountain (add time for the winding road).
~09:30 — Arrive at the terraces and pick a zone: for Ping'an, climb to Seven Stars Around the Moon and stop at Huangluo long-hair village on the way; for Dazhai, ride the cable car to Golden Buddha Peak.
~12:30 — Lunch in the village; try rice cooked in bamboo tubes and Longji black-feathered chicken.
~14:00 — Walk the remaining viewpoints, take photos and watch village life.
~16:00 — Set off back, reaching Guilin in the evening; finish the day with dinner in the city.

🌄 As an overnight (for sunrise — recommended if you can)

Day one — Arrive at Longji in the afternoon, check into a terrace guesthouse (choose a room with a field view), and walk the viewpoints in the late afternoon as the tour groups start to leave — the village is quiet and the evening light is lovely. Have dinner in the village.
Day two — Wake before dawn and climb to a viewpoint for sunrise and the mist drifting over the fields (the highlight day-trippers miss). Mid-morning, move to the other zone or ride the cable car at Dazhai, then head back to Guilin in the afternoon.

To fit Longji into a longer Guilin trip, see the 4-day Guilin itinerary or the 5-day itinerary, which usually give Longji a full day. To continue on to the karst-scenery base at Yangshuo, see the Yangshuo area guide.

Frequently asked

FAQ · Longji rice terraces, Guilin

How far are the Longji rice terraces from Guilin, and how do you get there?
The Longji rice terraces (龙脊) are in Longsheng (龙胜) county, about 2 hours by road north of Guilin. There is no train that runs directly to the terraces. There are two main ways to go: (1) a day tour or a private car with driver from Guilin, the easiest — they pick you up at your hotel and take you up to the viewpoints; and (2) the public bus from Guilin's Qintan (琴潭) bus station, with a few direct services a day to Longji for around ¥50 (about ฿250), taking roughly 2 to 2.5 hours, or you can take a bus to Longsheng county first and switch to a local bus into the village. The mountain road is winding and steep, so allow extra time and check the schedule before you go. See also day trips from Guilin.
How much is the Longji rice terraces ticket and the cable car?
The entrance ticket for the Longji rice terraces scenic area is about ¥80–100 (about ฿400–500) per person, and it covers both the Ping'an and the Dazhai/Jinkeng areas (you pay once). The cable car runs only in the Dazhai/Jinkeng area, up to the Golden Buddha Peak (金佛顶) viewpoint, for around ¥60 one way or ¥100–110 (about ฿500–550) for a round trip, about 20 minutes to the top. The Ping'an area has no cable car, so you reach its viewpoints on foot up stone steps. Ticket prices change with the season, so check before you go.
Should you go to Ping'an or Dazhai/Jinkeng?
Ping'an (平安) is a Zhuang village, easier to reach, with two famous viewpoints you walk up to — Seven Stars Around the Moon (七星伴月) and Nine Dragons and Five Tigers (九龙五虎). It suits people short on time or who don't want to walk too much. Dazhai/Jinkeng (金坑) is a Yao village with bigger, more dramatic terraces and the cable car up to Golden Buddha Peak for those who would rather not hike. If you only have one day, pick one area; if you can stay overnight, Dazhai is a great choice for sunrise over the terraces. See the full viewpoint overview on our Longji rice terraces sights guide.
When is the best time to visit Longji — and when is the gold harvest?
The Longji terraces look different by season. The mirror-water period — flooded fields reflecting the sky — runs after planting from roughly mid-April to June, summer turns them deep green, and the most famous shot is the gold harvest, around mid-September to early October, when the whole valley turns golden. Some winters bring a light dusting of snow. Avoid China's National Day Golden Week (1–7 October) and Chinese New Year, when crowds are heavy and prices double or triple. The best photos usually come on overcast, misty days rather than bright sun — check the forecast before you go. See the best time to visit Guilin.
What is the Huangluo long-hair village, and should you stay overnight on the terraces?
Huangluo long-hair village (黄洛瑶寨) is a Red Yao village on the way in to Ping'an. The women there grow their hair long by tradition, often over a metre, which earned the village a Guinness World Record as the world's first long-hair village, and there is a Yao cultural performance to watch. As for staying over, we recommend a night in a guesthouse on the terraces (in Ping'an or Dazhai) if you can, because that is the only way to catch the early-morning mist and sunrise over the fields that day-trippers miss. At a minimum, allow a full day for Longji, as there is a lot of climbing on steps and the views depend on the weather.
Longji rice terraces sights guide
An overview of the viewpoints, walking routes and highlights of Longji in detail
See →
Day trips from Guilin
Longji, Yangshuo and the sights out of town, with how to go and how long it takes
See →
The complete Guilin guide
Where to stay, what to see, how to get around and everything to know before Guilin
See →
Klook · Guilin tours & activity tickets

Book a Longji rice terraces tour ahead — hotel pickup, no gambling on bus times

Longji is easiest as a day tour from Guilin booked through Klook — with a vehicle that picks you up at your hotel and takes you up to the viewpoints, no local transfers needed, plus Li River cruises and other activities around Guilin.

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