Trekking around the Long Ji Rice Terraces, from Ping'an to Dhazai, central southern China. We got lost, and our 3 hour stroll turned into a 6 hour hike. Still, the scenery was wonderful.

En route from Ping'an to Dhazai. Lost, as it happens. Around the Long Ji Rice Terraces, central southern China.

Having arrived at the end of our hike from Ping'an to Dhazai, we were at least able to enjoy a cold beer whilst enjoying the spectacular views from our little hotel. The folk around here have been carving up the hillsides into amazing rice paddies for about 800 years, and appear mostly to still be going strong.

From just outside our hotel near Dhazai, Long Ji Rice Terraces, central southern China.

A Colourful if bumpy bus ride from Dhazai to Longsheng. Like community minibuses the world over, all manner of folk hop on and off gossipping away furiously the whole time. This particular bus, which was full in this picture, soon became seriously overcrowded, rather to the amusement of the women in the pink top who had already long secured a seat of sorts. We took a number of fairly arse breaking bus journeys around this bit of central southern China, checking out a variety of little towns and villages. Many of the roads are either rocky gravel tracks or, even worse, proper roads under construction.