Longsheng, Sanjiang and Zhaoxing

Longsheng lies in one of the most underrated provinces in China: Guizhou. Longshen, Sangjiang, Zhaoxing (the Wind and Rain Bridges and Drum Towers) and the Huangguoshu waterfalls near Anshun Guizhou are on the tourist map. Guizhou has it's own minorities living in the mountains. They still have their own traditional, music and clothing. The most well-known of them are the Dong and the Miao.

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Guizhou is one of the poorer provinces in China. The roads are not as good developed as in many other provinces. This is partly because of the mountainous landscape. In the summer it's wet with serious problems for the local people. In June 2006 some serious problems occurred and people had to be evacuated because of the water. I have been cycling in June and July in Guizhou and have experienced myself how hard it was.

That said, Guizhou is worth a visit more then just Longsheng, Sanjiang, Zhaoxing and the Huangguoshu Falls. We'll explore a bit more of Guizhou on this page

Longsheng, rice terraces of Ping An
The rice terraces of Longji, just near Longsheng

There are two basic routes to Longsheng you can cycle. It's possible to do it in a loop too, in case you want to visit Guizhou only (which is worth!). Let's start in Yangshuo, assuming you already know how to come there. Yangshuo, with it's spectacular limestone mountains it's actually a good base for exploring even the whole of China, if you have enough time!

Guilin to Longsheng and Sanjiang

I used Yangshuo as a base because it was quite close, just a night-bus ride away, from Hong Kong. Transport to other parts of the country is available in the nearby city of Guilin. And I loved it there. All good reasons to stay here once in a while.

But after some time I got tired of being lazy. I left Yangshuo north to Guilin only to stay there that time just one night. The next day I went to Longsheng and the famous rice terraces. In fact Longsheng is quite a few kilometers away (around 20) from the rice terraces but it's possible to visit them in a day trip. Nicer is to stay a night in the hills in the village of Ping An. The official name for the Longsheng terraces is Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces.

Longji village, from here you can see the famous rice terraces

From Longsheng it's about 20 km, the last on a new road all the way up to over 800 meters altitude. The actual village is a bit further on the hill. This means you have to carry your bicycle on the wooden stairs to Ping An. You can ask some of the locals to help you for a few Yuen.

Chengyang Qiao, near Sanjiang from the nearby hill top

These days it is very touristy. Ping An is nowadays mostly a guest house village. The atmosphere however is still nice enough not to skip it. From Longsheng to Sanjiang is another 100 km. Sanjiang is not worth even a night. You come here for the nearby Chengyang Qiao. This little village is famous for it's most beautiful Wind and Rain bridge. These bridges are build by the local Dong minority in the first half of the 20th century. The bridges were, and are used as shelters for bad weather and sometimes as sales areas for local to sell their goods. Chengyang Qiao is the most beautiful of them all.

In the surrounding area are more Dong villages. Some have beautiful Drum towers, originally in use for the villagers as meeting place where announcements were made and amusement like theater plays were (and are) performed.

Next to the bride in Chengyang Qiao is a basic hotel. These days some of the villagers offer a room in the village too. It's usually the foreigners that stay overnight while the local Chinese tourist come to get a photo of the bride and leave.

At the Wind and Rain Bridge in Chengyang Qiao

Zhaoxing

Visiting Chengyang Qiao and then not visiting Zhaoxing is like visiting Paris without a visit to the Eiffel tower. Zhaoxing is a good day cycling from Chengyang Qiao. The road to Sanjiang is good. After Sanjiang, follow the direction to Kaili and Guiyang on the road number 321. The last time I was there the road was still in poor condition and I haven't heard of plans to upgrade this road.

Wind and rain bridge in Chengyang Qiao Sanjiang

It's a spectacular road. Maybe it's not that spectacular but you pass many small Dong and Miao villages, some have drum towers, some have Wind and Rain Bridges. Basically the road follows a small river. I made a slight mistake to go into the mountains before I reached the junction to Zhaoxing and Liping. This gave me a beautiful detour along one of the mountains that surrounds Zhaoxing but I also had to cross that same mountain to come into the town from the north side.

Typical local houses in east Guizhou province

It was like a time machine. In Zhaoxing the modern world didn't seem to have arrived yet. But I saw preparations where made for more tourism, The village itself was almost complete traditional build. Trekking in the surrounding mountains with guides from the village is possible.

And if you have missed, or skipped the rice terraces of Longsheng, here's a second chance. On the way to Zhaoxing and further to Rongjiang, you will see many more. Rongjiang is another 100 km further west.

Zhaoxing in the rainy season, don't come here in June or July, it's very wet!

A nice way to reach Rongjiang is to skip the main 321 but first go to Liping. Although the town of Liping is nothing worth of interest, the road to the town is very scenic with more Dong and Miao villages. It is a little visited area, even little visited in Guizhou. You may consider going further north to Jinping but this road is in very bad condition. However, it is an interesting detour to Bagong and Kaili.

Most people, if they ever come to Liping, take the road south to Rongjiang. Just outside Liping you will find more Dong villages with Drum towers and Wind and Rain bridges. None of them is as beautiful as Chengyang Qiao or Zhaoxing but it's a great bicycle ride.

Entrance ticket for Zhaoxing

By the time you arrive in Kaili, you have to decide to go to Guiyang or to Hunan, north east and a 2 to 3 days ride. Kaili itself is quite a big city but I couldn't get excited about it both times I was there. However, there's a few good tours to do in the area. The scenery, you already have seen on the way in, becomes even more spectacular once you leave the town on one of the dirt roads to the surrounding Miao villages.

More about Zhaoxing and how to cycle to this little gem in the hills of east Guizhou

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