Ping An Zhuang Village

Ping’an (平安壮寨) is a Zhuang minority village high up in the mountains surrounded by spectacular Longji Rice Terraces. The farming village has about 80 Zhuang ethnic households. For more than 600 years, Zhuang people have lived on the terraced rice fields from one generation to generation. Ping’an offers an authentic view into traditional Chinese country living.

Ping An Zhuang Village

For Ping’an village, it still maintains the traditional three storied wood buildings with hemp railing. Most of the buildings have a history of more than 100 years. Built largely from timber, the houses are typically rectangular and three stories high, with a high-foot railing style construction. The domestic animals live in the first level and the villagers live in the upper levers. The adorable village is stacked up in layers along the hillside. Stone paths and staircases twist in and out of buildings. Water flows everywhere in streams, rivulets, waterfalls, and channeled in bamboo pipes.

Ping An Zhuang Village

The Zhuang people in Ping’an retain their ethnic features of costume and living customs. Men wear short gowns made of hand-loomed cloth; and women wear white shirts, black pants, and brightly colored cloth on their heads. The residents live as they did in old times – adults work in the fields, old people sit on their doorsteps all day, and kids play up and down the paths… When visiting a local family, guests usually are entertained with the zhutongfan (竹筒饭/baked bamboo rice) and home-made sweet rice wine.

Ping An Zhuang Village

Embraced by terraces and ecological forest, Ping’an Village is quiet and elegant with a pleasant climate all the year round. There are mainly two scenic spots to get a panorama of spectacular Longji rice terrace, as well as glimpse the rural life and unique style of houses. One is the Nine Dragons and Five Tigers (No.1 viewing spot); another one is the Seven Stars with the Moon (No.2 viewing spot). Moreover, there are great hiking opportunities here – the four- to five-hour trek between the villages of Ping’an Zhuang Village and Dazhai Yao Village is highly recommended.