Last Days in China

After Yangshuo, it was time to head back to Guangzhou to pick up our Vietnam visas, and Lindsey. We took a side trip on our way back, though, to the Longsheng Terraces in northwestern Guangxi province, very close to the border with Guizhou, an area we'd spent some time in with Pierce last summer. It was good to be back in this lush green, mountainous region, and while the trip there involved 3 buses and a little more time than expected, the afternoon spent hiking and visiting in the villages scattered on the slopes was worth it. This area is famous for having some of the steepest terracing in the world, reaching about 800m up the hillsides; most of the terracing was first constructed about 500 years ago, and the majority of it is still actively farmed. Here was the view from where we stopped for lunch:

Here is Ben with the grandma of the house we stopped in for lunch... she didn't think she looked pretty enough in this picture, which was really cute.

Here is Ben as we walk down from the mountains.


After leaving the terraces we caught the bus back to Guilin and from there, the overnight train back to Guangzhou, where we are at present. After some complications with train tickets, which we eventually got sorted out, Lindsey arrived (she'd been in Shanghai with Courtney), and we spent a nice evening walking around the city. Today we successfully picked up our Vietnam visas (yay!), and tomorrow we have an early morning train down to Nanning, from where we will hopefully be departing for Hanoi early on the 27th. It feels weird to be leaving China at last, but I'm excited to be moving on, meeting new countries, and moving a little closer to home. Look for us next in Vietnam.