Today, we hiked the Longji rice terraces. I expected a rather leisurely stroll through the rice fields, with some undulations – but that was maybe too naïve. Instead, we had to climb some more stairs.

Our day started with a climb to the viewing platform "Nine Dragons and Five Tigers". You need quite a bit of imagination, though, to actually recognize these animals: The "dragons" are simply the more elongated rice terraces, and the "tigers" are the shorter ones.

After that, we continued our way not only along, but also up and down the rice terraces. Close to a village that we passed through, heavy machinery was used to cut a wide road into the hillside, destroying quite a few rice terraces. At some other place, a chairlift was carrying people up to a viewing point. In other words, the area is being developed for the tourist trade. Soon, not much of the traditional way of living of the local farmers will remain.

Still, we enjoyed some great views of the terraces, even without using that chairlift. At the very end of our hike, we climbed some more stairs to the viewing platform "Seven Stars Accompany The Moon". Again, you need your imagination: The "moon" is a nearly circular rice terrace, and the "stars" are the surrounding terraces.

Finally, we reached our hotel – after having climbed the equivalent of 183 flights of stairs, according to the fitness app of a fellow traveller. No wonder my feet were tired that evening!