Located in the center of the Guangxi ZhuangAutonomous Region, Liuzhou is a historic and cultural city as well as afascinating tourist city. It covers an area of 18,707 square kilometers and hasa population of about 4 million. Being developed in industry, it is the largestindustrial basis in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Abundant in cultural relics and touristresources, it has features including verdant mountains, crystal water, bizarre cave,marvelous stone, dense forest and thick grass. Lianhua Cave, which is the relicof the culture of the ancient people in southern China – "Liuzhoupeople", is a cave science museum with both tourism and popularization ofscience. In the Dule Lava Scenic Area, karst caves are fancy and graceful. Whenyou are standing there, you will feel amazed. Stalactites are of thousands ofshapes. They all together show miraculous scenery, and thus the "palace ofthe art of nature" comes into being.

Longtan Park is a large-scaled scenic areaintegrated with karst landform, lava plants of subtropical areas and ethniccustoms of the Southern minorities. Liuhou Park, where there is cenotaph andLiuhou Memorial Temple of Liu Zhongyuan - literary artist and philosopher, isan ideal spot for thinking of the past. "Rare Stone" is anotherfeature of Liuzhou. Abound in bizarre stones; Liuzhou has the reputation that"the bizarre stones in Liuzhou are the best in the world".

The ethnic customs are unique and romantic.The songs of the Zhuang Minority, dances of the Yao Minority, and festivals ofthe Miao Minority and the architectures of the Dong Minority are regarded to bethe "four distinct features of the ethnic customs" in Liuzhou.

LongjiAncient Zhuang Village

It preserves the largest scale ofDiaojiaolou wooden houses and stone carving culture of Zhuang ethnic group inChina. Only recently developed, it still retains its simple and authenticethnic looks and culture.

Located in the south of Ping'an Village ofLongsheng County, Longji Ancient Zhuang Village (Longji Gu Zhuang Zhai) has ahistory of more than 700 years. It consists of four tribes, which are LiaoFamily Tribe, Hou Family Tribe, Pingduan Tribe and Pingzhai Tribe. Zhuangpeople of three family names (Liao, Hou and Pan) live there. They belong to theBaiyi Zhuang – White Clothes Zhuang.

The Longji Zhuang Ancient Village isquieter and more traditional than some other ethnic villages, because it wasonly recently developed and to tourists. Their houses are very unique andconsist the largest scale of Diaojiaolou wooden houses in China. Diaojiaolouare a kind of wooden houses built by the ethnic people in mountainous areas.They were built by the mountain slopes, and supported by wooden columns overthe ground. They can protect against snakes or bugs and are damp proof. Thehandrails are useful for hanging clothes and other agricultural produce.

To help visitors better learn about thelocal life, a traditional house which is the oldest and most typical of the localstructures was used and opened to tourists. Besides visiting inside the house,visitors can talk with the residents (your tour guide can do the translation)while sipping their hand-made tea. A Zhuang Museum is also available at thetribe where visitors can learn about the history and culture of the localpeople.

LongshengHot Spring

The Longsheng Hot Springs National ForestPark is located in Jiangdi Village, 32 kilometers from Longsheng County and 137kilometers from downtown Guilin. Covering an area of 260 hectares, the highestaltitude of the forest park is 1,060 meters while the lowest altitude is 290meters. In the park, there are many gorgeous mountains including MonkeyMountain, Five Sword Mountain and Chessboard Mountain. These mountains offereda mix of endangered plants and rare animals to be viewed by the tourists. Thenational park is covered by dense forest and has an average year roundtemperature of 17°C,so it is a great place to escape the city heat.

The major attractions in the Longsheng HotSprings National Forest Park are the sixteen hot springs. As they contain naturalhot spring water, the Longsheng Hot Springs are very beneficial to the humanbody.The water boils 1,200 meters underground with water temperatures rangingfrom 45°C to 58°C and the water, tested by experts, contains various elementsincluding lithium, iron, zinc, strontium, copper and many others that arebeneficial to health. Bathing in the hot springs has curative effects onnerves, skin diseases, rheumatism and arthritis. The spring water there is notonly suitable for bathing but also for drinking directly because it is so pureand clear. It has now become the most famous hot spring area in South China andis an ideal place for a vacation.

As Longsheng County boasts of having adiverse population, the Longsheng Hot Springs National Forest Park is also theright place to see different Chinese ethnic groups. The minority nationalitiesliving in the county include Zhuang, Yao, Miao and Dong groups. Each ethnicgroup has its own language, traditions and customs, so their architectures,costumes and festivals are identifiable and splendid. In the Longsheng HotSprings National Forest Park,there are some folk culture villages, such as theYao and Miao villages, built for tourists to get a better understanding aboutthe ethnic groups. However,if you want to experience more than that, you needto goout of the hot springs park and explore the nearby areas that areinhabited by these minority groups. After that you will be impressed by thecolorful lives and the rich cultures of these Chinese ethnic groups.

As the hot springs park is a nationalholiday resort, you are recommended to stay there overnight. The park hasextensive facilities for tourists.There are hot spring hotels, bath centers,restaurants, bars, and banks. With the combination of natural beauty and modernentertainment, the Longsheng Hot Springs National Forest Park is a perfectplace for a family vacation.

LongjiPing'an Terraced Fields

The Ping'an Terraced Fields are located inthe Longji Terraced Fields Scenic Area in Longsheng County, which is 100kilometers north-west of Guilin City. Longji Terraced Fields consist of threemain villages – Jinkeng Red Yao Village, Ping'an Zhuang Village and LongjiAncient Zhuang Village. When talking about Longji Terraced Fields, it isgenerally considered to be Ping'an Terraced Fields, the core tourist area ofLongji Terraced Fields.

The altitude of the Ping'an Terraced Fieldsis from 300 meters up to 1,100 meters above the sea level. This area was firstcultivated in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and finished in the early QingDynasty (1644-1911) with a history of more than 650 years. Every tourist to thePing'an Terraced Fields will marvel at how spectacular the scenery is and whathard work the local people have been doing down in the fields.

Ping'an Zhuang Village accommodates morethan 50 families with over 200 people. Most of them are Zhuang people and someare Yao people. The Zhuang minority nationality is the main nationality inGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. One third of the population in Guangxi iscomprised of the Zhuang people. The Yao people in the village are distinctivefrom the other residents because of their hair. All of the Yao women in thevillage have long hair; with the longest being over two meters. Huangluo YaoVillage, which is on the way to the Ping'an parking lot, was listed in theGuinness World Records as the "World's First Long Hair Village". Itis said that all of the Yao women in the village only cut their hair onceduring their lifetime and that's when they become adults (18 years old). If youhave a chance to see the long hair show performed by the Yao women, you willsee that there are three bunches of hair on their head. The first bunch is thenatural hair growing on their head. The second bunch is the hair which was cutoff when they were 18 years old. The third bunch of hair comes from the hairwhich falls out when they comb their hair daily.

The main scenic spots in the Ping'anTerraced Fields are "Seven Stars around the Moon" and "NineDragons and Five Tigers". "Seven Stars around the Moon" islocated at the second viewing point of Ping'an Village. It is formed from eightsmall piles standing separately in the middle of eight rice paddies. The middlepile, filled with water, looks like a bright moon while the others are comparedto seven stars. Located at the first viewing point, the "Nine Dragons andFive Tigers" means the nine ridges look like nine dragons branching offfrom the main vein. Alongside, there are five tiger-like piles, guarding thepeaceful village. Both of the two scenic spots are the best places to get abird's-eye of the Ping'an Terraced Fields.

TheJinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields

The Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields are oneof the three main terraced field areas (the other two are Longji Ancient ZhuangTerraced Fields and Ping'an Terraced Fields) in the Longji Terraced Fields ScenicArea in Longsheng County.

Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields is fartherthan the other two terraced field areas from the tourist entrance. Aless-visited tourist area, Jinkeng (金坑 'Golden Hollow')is less touristy and the scenery is more spectacular than the Zhuang areas. Itattracts lots of photographers every year.

The Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields includeDazhai Village, Xiaozhai Village, Tiantou Village, Xinzhai Village, ZhuangjieVillage, and Xiabu Village. Dazhai Village is the main tourist center with manyhotels and guesthouses located nearby.

The Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fieldsare  880 meters to 1,180 meters above sealevel. The highest mountain called Fupingbao is about 1,900 meters inelevation.

The main viewing points are Xishan Shaoyue('West Hill Music'), Dajie Qianceng Titian ('Large-Scale Thousand-LayerTerraces') and Jinfo Ding ('Golden Buddha Peak').

Xishan Shaoyue is the highest terrace area(altitude 1,180 meters) of the three, and it is the best place to enjoy thesunrise and sunset. Dajie Thousand-Layer Terraces has impressive and numerousterraces, all the hard work of the local people.

There are cable cars up to the thirdviewing point Golden Buddha Peak, the only attraction with cable car access inLongji Terraced Fields Scenic Area. The cableway is 1,580 meters long, takes 20minutes, and costs 75 yuan one way. Enjoy the splendid terrace scenery from thecable car and the peak.

The Jinkeng Red Yao Terraced Fields are thecore heartland of the Red Yao (Younuo or "Long-haired Yao") ethnicgroup. As well as the amazing scenery, people also come to experience the RedYao culture. In the villages the long-haired Yao ladies dress in their uniqueand colorful costumes. In the evening the hospitable Yao people invite gueststo join in their singing and dancing parties. It is a wonderful chance toexperience a minority ethnic group's daily life.