Longi Valley

Rice Terraces
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Sorry for the delay in the update however computers were sparse in our rural locations.  We made it to a place called Ping'an where we trekked through rice terraces.  These terraces are an absolutely gorgeous sight - there are hundreds and hundreds of rows filled with rice that are all farmed by hand.  We spent two days trekking around the thousands of steps of these rice fields with a local guide.

The women were dressed very traditionally here in brightly colored shirts and long black hair that they never cut.  The region again was extremely poor as the houses were scarcely furnished with the animals living in stables below there hillside houses and the families living above.  Our accommodations were a sort of hillside wood cabin with minimum amenities. One particular accommodation had only one drain for the shower and sink and that was into the squat toilet.  It was quite humorous one night while brushing our teeth when the dilemna arose whether to spit into the sink (which would be spitting on the floor) or spit directly into the toilet:-)

More Rice Terraces
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Besides half of our group getting ill one day (including myself) this region was well worth exploring and I would definitely recommend it for anyone going to China.