Longji Rice Terraces

This was a great trip.  The trip up to the terraces which are perched on the side of mountains was, at times, harrowing and beautiful.  The driver was very skillful and I felt completely confident in his abilities.  We made 2 other stops to pick up a pair of Dutch women and a pair of Italian women.

One of the Italian women was a professional photographer and she took excellent shots of some of the long-hair women after the show.

As with most organized tourist trips there will be a small component of the human zoo included.  The Long-Hair Show was ours.  We pull into this village and there is a suspension bridge over the river below which some assholes in front of us thought would be fun to make the bridge go side to side.  The only thing between you and your maker was a single rope "railing".  The show was supposed to illustrate their way of life, and I guess it did to some degree.  The singing, was with most indigenous Asian people, consisted of high pitched wailing, thought tuneful,, but at a tonal level that made the dogs uncomfortable.

Then there was the showing off of the long hair.  Apparently, women in the village only cut their hair twice in their lifetimes.  At puberty and at death. The hair from their early ceremony is kept and used to augment the hair styles that by their very shapes indicate certain aspects of the woman's status.  One style for unwed, another for married, a third for married with children.

There was a dancing portion as well as a portion where men are invited up from the audience to take part in a marriage ceremony.  Apparently, the affectionate goodbye is a pinch on the butt!

Lunch was had in the village and it was really quite tasty.  Then back on the bus to head to the top of the mountain.

We opted to take the cable car both ways, allowing us 1.5 hours up at the top overlooking the terraces.  The pictures tell the story.  Locally, these terraces are also known as the Dragon's Backbone.