Longsheng County, Guangxi

Longji Rice Terraces Tours

The Dragon’s Backbone, from Guilin

Longji Rice Terraces tours take you two and a half hours north of Guilin to eleven hundred hectares of paddy cut into a mountain ridge. Compare every guided day on what it actually gives you: hours on the hill, whether the gate ticket is in the fare, and which valley you end up in.

Hours, prices and access verified by the Longji Rice Terraces Tours team — last checked August 28, 2026

See the top tours Compare them side by side

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead on every tour. You will not be charged yet.

300–1,100 mAltitude range

650 yearsOf terracing

From $65Per person

Longji Rice Terraces Tours›Longji Rice Terraces tours and tickets

Updated: August 28, 2026

Featured

Top Longji Rice Terraces Tours for 2026

The three that between them cover every way of doing this: both valleys privately, everything included on a coach, and the cheapest private car with a guide. Each is a full Longji Rice Terraces tour from Guilin rather than a photo stop.

Both valleys

Longji Rice Terraces Full-Day Private Tour from Guilin

★ 4.7 · 101 reviews · 7 to 12 hours

Ticket includedGuide on the guided option

Both terrace valleys come within reach on this private day, which is the only one here that allows two and a half hours at Ping’an and two more at Jinkeng Dazhai. Admissions to every site named in the itinerary are already in the fare, and the ninety-minute run up from Guilin is the shortest of any Longji day you can book. Options run from a driver-only self-guided car to a private guide for the whole day, and Huangluo is a thirty-minute stop if you want it. Lunch is yours to choose.

Pickup from your Guilin or Yangshuo hotel
Ninety-minute drive to the Longji car park
Huangluo long hair village, optional 30 minutes
Ping'an Village guided tour, 2.5 hours
Dazhai Village guided tour, 2 hours
Two-hour transfer to Guilin or Yangshuo

From $119 per person

View details Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Everything included

In-Depth Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour with Lunch

★ 4.9 · 39 reviews · 10.5 hours

Ticket includedGuide includedLunch included

A published timetable is the unusual thing here: gather at 08:30, reach the ticket office at 11:00, walk at 13:00, leave the hill at 17:30. The fare carries the scenic-area ticket, an English-speaking guide, a Zhuang lunch built around bamboo rice and the Red Yao long-hair show, which together come to most of what you would otherwise pay separately. It reaches Guzhuang, the Ancient Zhuang Village, before walking an hour through the fields to Ping’an. You make your own way to the meeting point.

08:30 gather at the Sheraton Guilin Hotel
Two-and-a-half-hour coach to Longji
Ancient Zhuang Village and Ecological Museum
Local family home visit
One-hour hike to Ping'an Village
Yao long hair performance en route

From $88 per person

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Top rated

Private Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Villages Day Tour

★ 5.0 · 85 reviews · 10 hours

Ticket bought at the gateGuide included

Ten private hours with a guide who also drives, for less than most coach seats. The day allows a quarter of an hour among the Red Yao stilt houses at Huangluo, then about three hours hiking the Ping’an terraces, which is long enough for both numbered platforms without watching the clock. You buy the CNY 80 scenic-area ticket at the gate and your own lunch in the village, which is why the fare is what it is. Confirmation takes up to 48 hours, so book a few days ahead.

Hotel pickup in central Guilin at 8:30am
Two-hour drive to the Longji scenic area
Fifteen minutes at Huangluo Yao Village
Twenty-minute drive on to Ping'an
About three hours hiking the Ping'an terraces
Return drive to your Guilin hotel

From $68 per person

View details Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Why book here

Trusted by Thousands of Visitors

Everything bookable on the Dragon’s Backbone, set out so you can choose.

⛰

Best Guides

Local guides who grew up in these valleys, know which path goes where and can tell you what is happening in the fields. Travellers here name their guide more often than they name the view.

✓

Book With Confidence

Every tour refunds in full up to 24 hours before it starts, and you pay nothing today. You see the same price the operator charges, with what each fare covers set out before you commit.

⛰️

Experience of a Lifetime

Six centuries of terraced mountain, villages built along the contour, and a landscape that changes completely four times a year. You will leave having walked it rather than photographed it from a car park.

FREE CANCELLATION UP TO 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE on every tour here, and reserve now, pay later on most.

Every option

All Longji Rice Terraces Tours & Tickets

Guided coaches, private cars, a ropeway day and drivers who take you to the gate and wait. Longji Rice Terraces guided tours and Longji Rice Terraces ticket prices, side by side.

Best seller

Longji Rice Terraces Small-Group Day Tour from Guilin

★ 4.7 · 119 reviews · 9 hours

Ticket on the full optionGuide includedMax 15

Hotel pickup in central Guilin starts a nine-hour loop through Huangluo, the Red Yao long-hair village, and on to Ping’an for the main Longji Rice Terraces viewpoints. A licensed English-speaking guide travels with the group, which is capped at fifteen, and you get five and a half hours between the two villages including a fifty-minute walk up to the platforms. Lunch is at your own expense and the scenic-area shuttle is charged separately at CNY 40. This listing also sells three other Guilin day trips, so choose the Longji option when you pick your date.

From $65 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Both valleys

Longji Rice Terraces Full-Day Private Tour from Guilin

★ 4.7 · 101 reviews · 7 to 12 hours

Ticket includedGuide on the guided option

From $119 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Top rated

Private Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Villages Day Tour

★ 5.0 · 85 reviews · 10 hours

Ticket bought at the gateGuide included

From $68 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Priced per car

Longji Rice Terraces Private Day Tour with Admission

★ 4.9 · 73 reviews · 10 hours

Ticket includedDriver, no guideMax 4

Priced for the car rather than the head, at one figure for up to four travellers, which changes the arithmetic completely once there are three of you. The fare covers the Longji Rice Terraces admission, a private car with a professional English-speaking driver, all fuel and parking, and a one-way electric shuttle up into the Ping’an fields. Ten hours from an 8:30am hotel pickup, with three of them at the terraces themselves. Lunch, airport transfers and personal expenses sit outside the price.

From $193 per group (up to 4)

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Everything included

In-Depth Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour with Lunch

★ 4.9 · 39 reviews · 10.5 hours

Ticket includedGuide includedLunch included

From $88 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Max 10 travellers

Longji Rice Terraces Mini-Group Tour with Guided Hike

★ 4.7 · 30 reviews · 8 hours

Ticket includedGuide includedMax 10

Capped at ten travellers, this small-group day collects from hotels in Guilin or Yangshuo and gives you five hours across the terraced fields and Ping’an Village. The guided walk runs from Guzhuang to Ping’an through the paddies rather than round them by road, finishing at the Seven Stars with the Moon viewpoint. Admission, bottled water and the scenic-area shuttle for larger groups are in the fare; lunch and gratuities are not. Your guide arranges a meeting point if your Yangshuo hotel sits outside the urban area.

From $160 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Lunch included

Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour from Guilin or Yangshuo

★ 4.8 · 23 reviews · 8 hours

Ticket includedGuide includedLunch included

Collected from your hotel in central Guilin or Yangshuo at 8am, this eight-hour day climbs two and a half hours into the foothills and then gives you four at the terraces. The admission ticket and a lunch at a local farmer’s house are both in the fare, and your guide covers the history and daily life of the Zhuang and Yao communities who cut these fields. Comfortable walking shoes matter more than fitness here. Folk singing and dancing performances are charged separately if you want them.

From $168 per person

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Infant seats available

Longji Rice Terraces & Long Hair Village Private Tour

★ 5.0 · 21 reviews · 9 hours

Ticket on the full optionGuide on the guided option

Huangluo, the Long Hair Village, is the first stop on this nine-hour private day, where Yao women grow their hair to remarkable lengths and the household traditions behind it are explained rather than performed at you. You then climb to the Ping’an terraces for about three hours with a private guide and car. On the guided option the Longji ticket is in the fare; on the self-guided one you buy it at the gate. Pickup is 8:30am from Guilin or Yangshuo, back around 5:30pm.

From $100 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Lunch included

Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Village Day Tour with Lunch

★ 4.4 · 18 reviews · 8 hours

Ticket terms varyGuide includedLunch included

Bamboo rice in Ping’an Village is the centre of this eight-hour day, cooked in green cane over a fire and eaten after three hours among the terraces. An English-speaking driver-guide collects you from a downtown Guilin hotel between 8:00 and 8:30 and drives the two and a half hours up in an air-conditioned minivan. The return calls at the Yao village, where a long-hair dance show runs at extra cost. A separate dedicated guide is available for a supplement if you want one.

From $116 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

All tickets included

Longji Rice Terraces & Villages All-Inclusive Private Tour

★ 4.9 · 11 reviews · 8 to 9 hours

Ticket includedGuide includedLunch included

Everything in one fare is the pitch here, and the inclusions list backs it: a private guide, private transfers with hotel pickup and drop-off, every entrance ticket and a local lunch. Eight to nine hours from central Guilin, with five of them at the Longji Rice Terraces and the Yao and Zhuang villages around them. Guides are available in Spanish, French, German and Italian as well as English if you note it when booking. Stay in Guilin the night before rather than in Longji, because the village roads restrict vans.

From $138 per person

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Hands-on workshop

Longji Rice Terraces Tour with Oil Tea & Zhuang Lunch

★ 5.0 · 10 reviews · 9 to 10 hours

Ticket includedGuide includedLunch included

Roll your sleeves up for this one: you roast peanuts and soybeans, grind your own blend and make Longji oil tea with a Zhuang family before sitting down to a homemade village lunch. The day starts with a two-hour drive to Guzhuang, a quiet village of century-old timber houses with a small museum of costume and farming tools. Afterwards you choose between a thirty-minute climb and the cable car to the terrace viewpoint. The scenic-area ticket and the shuttle are both in the fare.

From $165 per person

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Ropeway included

Longji Dazhai Rice Terraces Day Tour with Cable Car

★ 4.8 · 8 reviews · 8 hours 30 minutes

Ticket includedDriver, no guide

Ride the ropeway rather than climb, on the one day here that puts the return trip in the fare along with the scenic-area admission. It goes to Jinkeng Dazhai, the larger and quieter of the two Longji Rice Terraces valleys, where you get two hours at the viewpoints and an hour and a half over a village lunch of bamboo rice and smoked pork. Pickup is 9:00am or a time you choose, from a Guilin hotel, station or the airport. Highway tolls and lunch are paid separately.

From $99 per person

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Three days

Longji Rice Terraces, Li River & Yangshuo 3-Day Private Tour

★ 4.9 · 5 reviews · 3 days

Ticket on the full optionGuide includedMax 12

Three days and one private car cover Guilin’s city sights, a full day at the Longji terraces and a Li River cruise down to Yangshuo. Day two is the terrace day, and you choose on the morning between the Dazhai cable car up to Golden Buddha Peak and the Ping’an hike to its two viewing platforms, with the Huangluo long-hair show on the way back. The package option covers entrance fees, lunches and the cruise ticket; the basic option leaves all three to you. Capped at twelve, and described as wheelchair-accessible.

From $328 per person

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Car and driver only

Longji Rice Terraces Private Car & English-Speaking Driver

★ 5.0 · 31 reviews · 8 to 10 hours

Ticket bought at the gateDriver, no guideMax 8

A car, a driver and the day entirely your own: this fare buys the vehicle and the road, priced for up to eight people rather than per head. Your English-speaking driver collects you from a Guilin hotel, the airport or the railway station at 8:30am and will run you to the Longji Rice Terraces or to Yangshuo, stopping wherever you ask along the way. Fuel, tolls, parking, taxes and service charges are all in the price. Entrance tickets, meals and a guide are not, so budget the CNY 80 gate ticket separately.

From $136 per group (up to 8)

Check Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Self-guided

Longji Rice Terraces Self-Guided Day Trip with Driver

★ 4.9 · 11 reviews · 8 hours

Ticket bought at the gateDriver, no guide

Buy your ticket at the gate and walk the terraces at your own pace, with a private car and an English-speaking driver handling the two-hour drive and waiting while you go. The day allows four hours in the Longji fields and two more in Ping’an Village itself, which is more time on the hill than most guided days give you. There is no guide and no admission in the fare, and the listing names the CNY 80 entrance fee plainly rather than burying it. Pickup from Guilin or Yangshuo at 9am.

From $78 per person

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Compare them side by side

The terraces

About the Longji Rice Terraces

Cut into a ridge in Longsheng County by Zhuang and Yao families from the Yuan dynasty into the early Qing, the Longji Rice Terraces run from 300 metres to 1,100 and cover 1,174 hectares of working paddy. The FAO named the system Globally Important Agricultural Heritage in February 2018. Join us for the version that fits your day, whether that is a coach with everything paid for or a car that waits while you walk.

What Longji is

Eleven and a half square kilometres of terraced mountain, farmed continuously for about 650 years and still cropped by the families who own it. Two answers exist to how old it is and both are true. It is agricultural heritage rather than a World Heritage site, and the difference is worth knowing before you read another tour blurb.

The four villages

Ping’an and Guzhuang are Zhuang; Jinkeng Dazhai and Huangluo Yao Village are Red Yao. One ticket covers all four for three days, and which two your Guilin Longji tour visits decides most of what your day looks like. Huangluo holds a Guinness World Record set in April 2023 by 256 women combing a 456-metre chain.

Planning your visit

Admission is CNY 80 for an adult, half that from 60 and free from 65, and it stays valid three days. The scenic area itself is open all day while the gates, shuttles and ropeway run roughly half past seven to half past five. Everything that moves inside is charged separately, and you should bring cash.

A pale stone footpath climbing through the Longji Rice Terraces to a small timber viewing shelter on the ridge

Timber and concrete guesthouses on a spur below the Longji Rice Terraces under heavy grey cloud

A woman in embroidered minority dress with a silver headdress standing at a timber fence above the Longji Rice Terraces

Honest answer

Do you need a guided tour at all?

Sometimes not, and it is worth saying so before you spend anything.

Go independently

Buses leave Guilin Qintan Bus Station from about 06:25 and the gate ticket is CNY 80. If you have a spare day and no fixed schedule, this works, and going without a tour sets out the timings.

Take a car and driver

The road handled, the day yours. Two fares here are priced per vehicle rather than per head, so four travellers can pay less than four coach seats. No guide and no ticket included on those, which is the trade.

Book a guided day

What a fixed departure buys is a licensed guide, the CNY 80 ticket already paid, an edited route through villages nothing signposts, and a fixed time to be back in Guilin.

See the guided days

What you will see

The five viewpoints and the village below them

Nine Dragons and Five TigersPing’an’s No. 1 platform, where nine ridges run off the main spine and five low hills sit among them.
Seven Stars with the MoonPing’an’s No. 2 platform, named for seven knolls left unterraced in the middle of the curve.
West Hill MusicThe highest viewpoint in the scenic area at about 1,180 metres, above the Jinkeng bowl, and the one people climb for sunrise.
Thousand Layers to the HeavenJinkeng’s No. 2 platform, looking straight down the steepest stack of paddies on the mountain.
Golden Buddha PeakThe top station of the Dazhai ropeway, which is why this is the one corner reachable without a climb.
Huangluo Yao VillageThe Red Yao village at the foot of the road, where 256 women set a Guinness World Record in 2023 for the longest hair combing chain.

Compare

Which Longji Rice Terraces Tour Is Right for You?

Every option, on the four things that actually separate them.

Tour	Rating	Length	On the hill	Gate ticket	Best for	From
Longji Rice Terraces Small-Group Day Tour from Guilin	4.7 (119)	9 hours	5.5 hours	Ticket on the full option	Solo travellers and pairs who want a licensed guide at the lowest fare available	From $65 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Full-Day Private Tour from Guilin	4.7 (101)	7 to 12 hours	Up to 5 hours	Ticket included	Anyone who wants both valleys and their own timings on a single day	From $119 per person	Book
Private Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Villages Day Tour	5.0 (85)	10 hours	About 3 hours hiking at Ping'an	Ticket bought at the gate	Travellers who want a private car and are happy buying the ticket themselves	From $68 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Private Day Tour with Admission	4.9 (73)	10 hours	3 hours at the terraces	Ticket included	Groups of three or four, where a per-car fare undercuts every per-person one	From $193 per group (up to 4)	Book
In-Depth Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour with Lunch	4.9 (39)	10.5 hours	6.5 hours	Ticket included	First visits, and anyone who would rather arrive with nothing left to settle	From $88 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Mini-Group Tour with Guided Hike	4.7 (30)	8 hours	5 hours	Ticket included	Walkers who want a guided hike between villages in a group capped at ten	From $160 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour from Guilin or Yangshuo	4.8 (23)	8 hours	4 hours at the terraces	Ticket included	Travellers based in Yangshuo who want lunch and admission handled	From $168 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces & Long Hair Village Private Tour	5.0 (21)	9 hours	3 hours across Huangluo and the Ping'an terraces	Ticket on the full option	Families, and anyone drawn to the Red Yao village more than the viewpoints	From $100 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Village Day Tour with Lunch	4.4 (18)	8 hours	4 hours	Ticket terms vary	Travellers who want a village lunch and a shorter day on their feet	From $116 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces & Villages All-Inclusive Private Tour	4.9 (11)	8 to 9 hours	5 hours at the terraces	Ticket included	Visitors who want a guide in Spanish, French, German or Italian	From $138 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Tour with Oil Tea & Zhuang Lunch	5.0 (10)	9 to 10 hours	Your own schedule	Ticket included	Anyone who would rather cook with a family than photograph a viewpoint	From $165 per person	Book
Longji Dazhai Rice Terraces Day Tour with Cable Car	4.8 (8)	8 hours 30 minutes	3.5 hours	Ticket included	Travellers avoiding steps, and anyone who wants the bigger Jinkeng bowl	From $99 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces, Li River & Yangshuo 3-Day Private Tour	4.9 (5)	3 days	A full day at Longji on day two	Ticket on the full option	Travellers pairing the terraces with the Li River over three days	From $328 per person	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Private Car & English-Speaking Driver	5.0 (31)	8 to 10 hours	Your own schedule	Ticket bought at the gate	Independent travellers who want the road handled and nothing else	From $136 per group (up to 8)	Book
Longji Rice Terraces Self-Guided Day Trip with Driver	4.9 (11)	8 hours	6 hours	Ticket bought at the gate	Confident walkers who want six hours on the hill and no fixed schedule	From $78 per person	Book

Ratings, prices and inclusions as published by each operator in August 2026. Two fares are priced per vehicle and are marked as such.

What travellers said after going:

“Well organised, and our guide went into real detail on the history and culture of the region as well as the terraces themselves. The lunch was good too. I would recommend it to anyone heading up from Guilin.”

Stoycho · May 2026

“Excellent English and excellent driving. The operator arranged a Yangshuo drop-off for us at the end for a small extra fee, which made the rest of our planning much easier. Warmly recommended for the rice paddies and the region.”

Kari & Roxi · May 2026

“This was the favourite day of the trip for me and my daughter. The scenery was worth the drive and the pace was gentle, which made the difference. Our guide explained as we went and answered everything we asked.”

Mayra K. · April 2025

Which one is me?

Pick by what you want from the day

First visit, one free day

Take a guided day to Ping’an with the ticket in the fare. You get the classic view, a village lunch and no decisions.

Photography

A private car with an early start, or a night in a village guesthouse for the cloud at first light. No fixed departure reaches the gate before eleven.

Steps are the problem

Jinkeng Dazhai and the ropeway. It lifts you to a level viewing area with the widest landscape in the scenic area.

Plan your visit

The questions worth settling first

Ping’an or Dazhai? When to go Getting there What the ticket covers Walk or ropeway

Ping’an or Jinkeng Dazhai

Ping’an is 17 kilometres past the gate, a twenty to thirty minute climb, and the view you have already seen. Jinkeng Dazhai is 23 kilometres in, larger, quieter and served by a ropeway. One ticket covers both.

Read the full comparison · See tours to each

When to go

Mid-April to mid-June the fields are flooded and mirror the sky. July and August are green. Mid-September to early November is the harvest gold, and the busiest. Winter is water again, and almost empty.

Month by month · Find a tour for your window

Getting there

77 kilometres from Guilin, two to two and a half hours each way. Buses run from Qintan Bus Station through the day; private cars and guided coaches collect from your hotel. Vehicles of ten seats or more transfer to a CNY 40 shuttle at the gate.

All three routes compared

What the ticket covers

CNY 80 for an adult, valid three days, across all four villages. The shuttle, the buggy at CNY 30 one way, CNY 50 return, the ropeway and the CNY 80 long-hair performance are each charged separately.

Every extra, itemised · What to know before you go

Walk or ropeway

The paths are dry stone stairways rather than trails, with no scrambling anywhere. Ping’an is twenty to thirty minutes to the first platform; Jinkeng is an hour and a half on foot or twenty minutes in a cable car.

The walks and viewpoints

What happens

What a day at the terraces looks like

Collected

From your Guilin or Yangshuo hotel between 8am and 8:30am on almost every tour.

The drive

Two to two and a half hours, the last of it climbing and turning constantly.

On the hill

Four to six hours: the climb or the ropeway, both platforms, and a village lunch.

Back by evening

Leaving the terraces between four and half past five, in Guilin between five and seven.

Reviews

Longji Rice Terraces Tours Reviews

Feedback from travellers who booked these tours, in their own words — the guides get named far more often than the view does.

★★★★★

Our guide offered to take us to the Dazhai side instead of the usual stop. It was quieter and the landscape was more dramatic, and we took the cable car up and walked an easy hour back down. A peaceful afternoon.

Thomas F. · Traveller · April 2026
Private Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Villages Day Tour

★★★★★

Well organised, and our guide went into real detail on the history and culture of the region as well as the terraces themselves. The lunch was good too. I would recommend it to anyone heading up from Guilin.

Stoycho · Traveller from Bulgaria · May 2026
In-Depth Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour with Lunch

★★★★★

This was the favourite day of the trip for me and my daughter. The scenery was worth the drive and the pace was gentle, which made the difference. Our guide explained as we went and answered everything we asked.

Mayra K. · Family · April 2025
Longji Rice Terraces Day Tour from Guilin or Yangshuo

★★★★★

Excellent English and excellent driving. The operator arranged a Yangshuo drop-off for us at the end for a small extra fee, which made the rest of our planning much easier. Warmly recommended for the rice paddies and the region.

Kari & Roxi · Friends, Germany · May 2026
Longji Rice Terraces Full-Day Private Tour from Guilin

★★★★★

Our group of seven finished three days here and our guide was the highlight of a two-week trip. She read the group well — when to explain something, and when to step back and let us look. Every stop felt worth making.

Jose · Group of seven, United States · November 2025
Longji Rice Terraces, Li River & Yangshuo 3-Day Private Tour

★★★★★

We came for the terraces and ended up enjoying the small villages more. We never felt rushed at any point, and we learned a good deal about how people live up here. A lovely family day out.

Traveller from the United Kingdom · Family · August 2026
Longji Rice Terraces Tour with Oil Tea & Zhuang Lunch

★★★★★

My husband and I booked the private option. Our guide was there when we needed him and gave us space when we did not, which is a hard balance to get right. His English was good and he drove carefully.

Monica J. · Couple · July 2023
Longji Rice Terraces Private Day Tour with Admission

★★★★★

Our guide was kind and well informed, and the day was organised so that we had the right amount of time at each stop. Nothing felt rushed.

Alessandro · Traveller from Italy · August 2026
Longji Rice Terraces Small-Group Day Tour from Guilin

★★★★★

The mountain villages and the local traditions were as good as the view. Our guide was friendly and full of stories, and we would book with them again.

Traveller from Peru · Traveller · June 2026
Longji Rice Terraces Tour with Oil Tea & Zhuang Lunch

★★★

Worth seeing, but it is a long way and the traffic was heavy. The long-hair performance was not included in what we paid and we did not think it was worth the extra. The terraces themselves were another matter.

Martine M. · Traveller · November 2025
Longji Rice Terraces Private Day Tour with Admission

★★★★★

Punctual, reliable and well organised from the first message onwards. Everything was arranged before we arrived and the day ran exactly as described.

Nicole P. · Traveller · August 2026
Private Longji Rice Terraces & Minority Villages Day Tour

Read all reviews

Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Longji Rice Terraces tickets cost?

The scenic-area ticket is CNY 80 for adults aged 18 to 59. It is CNY 40 for over-60s with ID and for students under 18 with a student card, and free from age 65 and for children under 1.2 metres. One ticket covers all four villages and stays valid for three days.

Is the entrance ticket included in Longji Rice Terraces tours?

On most of them, yes, and the card for each tour says which. Three of the cheaper options deliberately leave it out so you pay only for the transport, and on those you buy the CNY 80 ticket at the gate on the way in. Two more include it on the fuller booking option and not on the basic one.

How long is the drive to the Longji Rice Terraces from Guilin?

Two to two and a half hours each way. The scenic area’s own map board puts the entrance at 77 kilometres from Guilin, then another 17 kilometres up to Ping’an or 23 to Jinkeng. Almost every day tour leaves between 8am and 8:30am for that reason.

Should I go to Ping'an or Dazhai?

Ping’an if you want the classic view and a shorter day; Dazhai, in the Jinkeng valley, if you want a bigger and emptier landscape and do not mind the extra distance. Ping’an is a 20 to 30 minute climb from the road, while Dazhai has a cable car. One ticket covers both, so the real constraint is time.

When is the best time for a Longji Rice Terraces day tour?

Mid-April to mid-June for the flooded fields, July and August for full green, and mid-September to early November for the harvest gold. The gold is the shortest window and the busiest. Outside those, the fields still hold water and the platforms are quiet.

Are the terraces worth seeing outside harvest season?

Yes, and the fields look completely different in each season rather than simply worse. From November to March the paddies fill with water and mirror the sky, and snow falls on the high ridges some winters. One operator states the off-season trade-off to buyers in writing, which is a fair way to put it.

How much walking is involved?

Expect 30 minutes to three hours on your feet, almost all of it on stone steps rather than rough ground. From the Ping’an road it is a 20 to 30 minute climb to the first platform and about an hour to reach both. Take the cable car at Dazhai and you can be at the top with barely a climb at all.

Do Longji Rice Terraces tours include lunch?

Some do and the card for each one says so. Where lunch is included it is usually a Zhuang village meal with bamboo-tube rice, eaten in Ping’an. Where it is not, there are village restaurants at both viewpoints and you pay on the day.

Is there a cable car, and do I need it?

There is one, on the Dazhai side, running up to Golden Buddha Peak. You do not need it — the walk up takes about an hour and a half — but it turns a climbing day into a walking one. It is charged separately from the scenic-area ticket, and one day tour bundles the return trip into its fare.

Can I do a Longji Rice Terraces tour from Yangshuo?

Yes. Five of the options here collect from Yangshuo hotels as well as Guilin ones, and one will drop you in Yangshuo at the end for an extra fee. The drive is longer from Yangshuo, so those days start earlier and finish later.

What is the Long Hair Village, and does the show cost extra?

Huangluo, at the foot of the road, is a Red Yao village where the women grow their hair to remarkable lengths. In April 2023, 256 of them set a Guinness World Record there for the longest hair combing chain, measured at 456 metres. The performance is charged separately at about CNY 80, and one day tour includes it.

Can I visit the terraces without a tour?

Yes, and for some travellers it is the better answer. Buses run from Guilin Qintan Bus Station through the day, and the gate ticket is CNY 80. A tour buys you the 17 or 23 kilometres past the entrance, someone who knows which path goes where, and a fixed time to be back in Guilin.

How far ahead should I book a day tour?

A few days is usually enough, and a week or more through the harvest weeks in late September and October. One operator reports its private days being booked about seven weeks ahead on average. Every tour here refunds in full up to 24 hours before departure, so booking early costs nothing.

Is it accessible for wheelchairs or pushchairs?

The terrace paths are stone stairways and almost every listing states that it is not wheelchair accessible. One three-day private tour does describe itself as wheelchair-accessible, and one day tour is marked stroller accessible. If steps are the problem, the Dazhai cable car and the electric buggy at Ping’an remove most of the climbing.

Do I need a visa to visit China?

Very possibly not. China’s unilateral visa-free scheme covers 45 countries for stays of up to 30 days, including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea and Japan, and it has been extended to 31 December 2026. The United Kingdom and Canada were added from 17 February 2026. Check your own passport against the current list before you book flights.

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Photographs

Longji Rice Terraces Gallery

Green Longji Rice Terraces curving over two ridges with fir forest between them and cable-car cabins on the skyline

Longji Rice Terraces stepping down from a timber viewing deck on the ridge, with guesthouses on the skyline

Yellow cable-car cabins crossing above the Jinkeng Dazhai rice terraces on the Longji ropeway

A single green cable-car cabin above the Longji Rice Terraces with mountains and cloud behind

A walker with a backpack descending a stone path through the Longji Rice Terraces towards Ping'an village

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Reading

Planning guides and answers

Visitor guide

The Complete Longji Rice Terraces Visitor Guide

From the CNY 80 gate ticket to the last bus back, in the order you will actually need it.

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Viewpoints

Every Longji Rice Terraces Viewpoint, Ranked by What You See

Five numbered platforms across two valleys, the climb to each, and which one is worth your morning.

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Facts

Twelve Things That Surprise People at the Longji Rice Terraces

1,174 hectares, 456 metres of combed hair, and two true answers to how old the terraces are.

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Where it is

Longji Rice Terrace Scenic Spot

Address

Longji Rice Terrace Scenic Spot, Q4CJ+5VF, Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County, Guilin, Guangxi, China 541701
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Hours

The scenic area is open all day. Ticket gates, shuttle buses and the ropeway run roughly 07:30–17:30.

Getting there

77 km from Guilin to the entrance, then 17 km up to Ping’an or 23 km to Jinkeng Dazhai. Full directions.

Beyond the terraces

The Li River cruise to Yangshuo, Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill are the usual companions to a Longji day, and two of the trips here build them in.

Book your Longji Rice Terraces tour

From $65 per person, with the CNY 80 gate ticket already covered on most fares. Longji Rice Terraces booking is handled by the operator, and a Longji Rice Terraces reservation can be cancelled in full up to 24 hours before you travel.

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. You will not be charged yet.