Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County 龙胜各族自治县

Setting and landscape

The county covers 2,538 square kilometres, with an average altitude of 700 to 800 metres. The Yuecheng Range (越城岭) runs through it from north-east to south-west, and its highest point, Fupingbao (福平包) at 1,916 metres, is listed by the county as the second-highest peak in Guangxi. The ground is high on the east, south and north and falls to the west. More than 80 streams gather into the Sang River (桑江), which flows west into Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County (三江侗族自治县); the Heping (和平河), Pingdeng (平等河) and Sanmen (三门河) rivers are the other main streams. Protected areas include the Nanshan pastures (南山牧场), the Huaping forest (花坪林区) and Longsheng Hot Springs National Forest Park (龙胜温泉国家森林公园).

History

The name first appears in 1741, when the Qing set up the Longsheng sub-prefecture (龙胜厅) under Guilin prefecture, named after Longsheng Stockade (龙胜寨), a village facing Qinglong Hill where the county town now stands, at the meeting of the Sang and Heping rivers. It became Longsheng County in 1912. Regional autonomy was introduced on 19 August 1951 and the present name dates from December 1956; the county describes itself as the first ethnic autonomous county set up in south-central China.

What to see

The Longji terraces were recognised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in 2017. Ping'an village (平安村), on the mountainside above the valley at Jinjiang village (金江村) in Longji town (龙脊镇), was the first part of the terraces opened to tourism, in the 1990s. Its Zhuang stilt houses step up the slope so that each roof props the next house's foundation, and viewpoints carry names such as "Seven Stars Around the Moon" (七星伴月). Longsheng Hot Springs and the Longji terraces are the county's two national AAAA scenic areas. Other sights listed by the county include Dong drum towers and wind-and-rain bridges, and the Huangluo Yao long-hair village (黄洛瑶族长发村). The Pingdeng drum-tower group (平等鼓楼群), the Red Army building at Longping (龙坪红军楼) and the Red Army Bridge at Weijiang (伟江红军桥) are protected at autonomous-region level.

Food and local products

The "four treasures of Longji" (龙脊四宝) are Longji tea, Longji chilli, Longji fragrant glutinous rice and Longji rice wine; the tea and chilli are national geographical-indication products. The county also lists camellia oil, shiitake mushrooms, luohan guo (罗汉果), Nanshan pears, dried bamboo shoots and Lejiang black pigs among its local products.

Highlights

• Longji Rice Terraces 龙脊梯田: Recognised by the FAO as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in 2017; a national AAAA scenic area.
• Ping'an Village 平安村: Zhuang village of stilt houses in Longji town, the first part of the terraces opened to tourism.
• Longsheng Hot Springs 龙胜温泉: National AAAA scenic area and national forest park.
• Weijiang Red Army Bridge 伟江红军桥: Autonomous-region-level protected heritage site.