Long Shan terraced rice fields

The morning view out my window at the Liqing Hotel in Long Shan. As I mentioned in the last post, we arrived close to midnight in the freezing cold and hiked up about 20 minutes to this village in the dark (with the exception of a few scattered flashlights). The only views we had along the way were the stone steps and the water buffalo dung we were avoiding! We arrived to a rustic hotel, made more rustic by the extreme weather. Our rooms were nice sized, and FREEZING! They turned on their answer to a heater in each room once we arrived. I think I can speak for all parties, (Walter's and Pearson's) when I say the heaters did very little to warm our rooms that night. There were big quilts we snuggled under, but they barely did the trick. As the Pearson rooms were on two separate floors, we split up, Ridley and Paige upstairs and Marcelle and Storey downstairs. Storey, the warm blooded girl, refused to share a bed with me to help keep me warm! She is warm all the time. I slept in my wool socks and finally was able to doze off a bit once I donned my hat. The children slept well, but I am not sure any of the adults had many winks. It was so cold in the morning it was near impossible to get out of bed. The bathroom was one room, toilet, sink, shower combined. I found out at breakfast that I was the only one crazy enough to attempt a shower. When I discovered there was hot water, I went for it.We met downstairs for breakfast, where it was not much warmer. We were able to order an American style breakfast, eggs and such, that warmed us a bit.
Tim is trying to reap the benefits of the heater - coal simmering away in a pot. Laurel, who was across the table, was not able to feel the warmth. You had to be right on top of it.

Our guide, Jessie, was wonderful and when she heard that none of us had fared well during the night, she suggested we leave a day early for Yangshuo. The beauty of where we were staying was the ability to see it, which we couldn't very well, and hike from village to village, which it was just too cold and frosty to do. We did decide, however, to try a small hike to the top to see what we could see. David, hatless and gloveless, borrowed my hat for the journey!
A view of the "town" we were in.
The town was terraced, along with the rice paddies. Really beautiful.

Above Ridley walking through one level of town, below another misty vision of the town as we climb higher on icy slate steps.
This adorable puppy found Paige along the way and followed her for most of the walk.
The bits we could see were breathtaking. I can only imagine the beauty when you can see the terraced fields go on and on as they do.
Jessie told us that two days earlier it was so warm they were wearing t-shirts. A film crew had been out there to film the area, and they had released water into the fields so they could have images of the sunlight reflecting off the water. They have a system that stores water at the top of the mountain, and then they can release it when needed. Smart move as it would be near impossible to try and bring water up the mountain for the fields.

We came south to try and get some warmth for Christmas, but what we are getting is some winter cheer! The only thing about cold in the south of China, south being from Shanghai down, is that the buildings don't have heat or insulation. They are most unprepared for anything really cold. Hotels and such have installed room heaters, but not quite the warmth factor Westerners are used to. You really realize what luxury we live in in the west. The Chinese people really live with the elements, even in cities. They are very hardy people. In Shanghai I see people bundled up on freezing cold days sitting outside on the sidewalk. It is warmer outside than inside their house.
Hard to tell, but the steps are all ice. Paige and the puppy making their way up.
A soy bean milk grinder. The hole in the protruding portion has a long piece that goes into it to turn it, from a fair distance, which makes it easier.
The inside of the grinder.
Going up the stairs was an adventure, but coming down was downright treacherous. We are descending now from our "summit" which actually had someone selling tourist books of the area. Of course I bought one! Had to know what the area really looks like!
One of many dry stack buildings. Gorgeous.
Shafts of bamboo stuffed with sticky rice and pork being grilled. Of course we had to try the local delicacy before leaving. Delicious! The kids devoured it. We could have eaten them all day to keep warm!
We returned from our trip, packed the two items we had taken out for the night, and headed back down the mountain to what we were hoping was a warmer Yangshuo, along the Li River. The porters taking our bags back down the mountain.
A stream we had missed the night before.
The covered bridge leading to the parking lot and the van. Everything was beautiful, magical in the wintry landscape, and we hope to return in better weather to really experience the grandeur of this mountain. It was an exciting adventure that won't soon or easily be forgotten. As unprepared as we were for the cold, it was remarkable to see the people living there. They are unprepared for this kind of cold, also. Jessie told us that each villager has a pig and every Chinese New Year (coming up at the end of January this year) they slaughter the pig and then preserve it in various forms for the year. Vegetables are also grown in the summer and guarded for the winter. I asked Jessie how the villagers navigated the icy steps in conditions like these, and she said they just don't leave their houses. It was true in terms of what we saw. Very few people were out. Tourism has become a part of this village, as it has in many parts of China, and of course people were out along the walk down, particularly as we got nearer the car park, selling the local goods. I did see one elderly woman carrying a bucket of water up the icy steps and marveled at the fortitude needed by all in a place like this. For them it is just life, and they do what they need to do. Don't we all - in our warm cars and houses and down jackets and Uggs!
We got onto our bus for what we thought was a 1 1/2 hour ride to Yangshuo. Ha! It was a long, windy way down the mountain, first on the small road, then on the bigger road, to Guilin where we stopped for a local lunch in a noodle shop. We were all freezing, and seeing the shop, like all the others, open to the outdoors, I asked if we were eating outside. Jessie said, "Oh no. It is inside." Oh good! Well, inside means it is inside the open front! We were, for all intents and purposes, outside. She ordered bowls of noodles for us, and then we went to a counter where we dressed the noodles up with all sorts of goodies, pickled vegetables, spicy sauces (for some of us) and then took the bowl to a large container filled with broth. It was decidedly delicious, and helped warm us. She said it was the best noodle shop in town! Agreed. Then we were off for another 1 1/2 hour ride to Yangshuo. A traveling day. As we were coming off the small mountain road, before we go to Guilin, we made a stop at a minority village where we were able to go into a home. Coming up in the next post!