Laojia 老家 | Travel Services
Laojia 老家 | Travel Services
Laozhai village
Laozhai village
Langshi Village
Qing Dynasty Retreat
Qing Dynasty Retreat
Langshi Village | Guangxi province
ABOUT
Langshi is an illustration of both traditional countryside life in Southern China, and of the drastic change that development brings.
Traditionally a fishing and farming village, agriculture still remains a large part of local life. The day-to-day activities of tending to family vegetable gardens, preparing meals, raising young children, collecting firewood, and visiting with neighbors remain the dominant pastimes for the elderly. The middle-aged folk are busy pruning the trees in their fruit orchards in their spare time, while driving tourists up and down the river on their ‘bamboo’ boats—tourism has become the major livelihood for many locals. And the youngsters are now balancing time between being boat drivers, maintaining their virtual identities on Chinese social media websites, and ordering the newest fashions from Taobao (Chinese equivalent of eBay).
You can see an intact few, and the remnants of many old mud brick houses. Our house was built sometime in the late Qing Dynasty, we guess between 1800-1850, although neither the local elders nor the local government seem sure of the age. Spend some time observing the village and its way of life, and you will have a unique taste of resilience, charm, and curiousness of the Chinese way.
“I enjoyed the beauty of elegance and charm of the house, especially loved the little gardens of front and back houses and the mediation room connected to my bedroom. Haibo is so warm and diligent caretaker who always make sure visitors are comfortableand happy. Villgers we encountered welcomed us with smile. I also liked interactions with other guests at the common areas. My favorite activities were climb the Five Finger mountain that is just back of the house(the view is spectacular and we watched breathtaking sunset) and calligraphy lesson with Jiyou. I will miss this beautiful village and villigers. I would love to visit other Liaojias they running as my first experience exceeded my expectation. ”
— Joohee, Australia
“Laojia is an experience more than a place. You experience being surrounded by the dreamlike karst mountains, the wonderful Langshi village and it's people, and the company of fellow travelers for every reach of the globe. The two buildings that make up Laojia are impressive on their own. Sitting by the pond is relaxing as is just strolling through the village in the morning. Haibo is kind, helpful, and a joy to talk to. The food is incredibly fresh, which may make your next meals taste stale by comparison. It's a perfect escape if you're coming from bigger cities in China such Shanghai, Guangzhou, or even Guilin. ”
— Austin, USA
“If you are looking for a way to spend some time close to the mountains of Guilin, without being surrounded by tourists, Laojia is a great place to stay. The guest house is located in a village which is not touristy at all, very easy to meet locals here. The house itself is beautiful and relaxing. Although we weren't planing to, we had quite an active few days because there was so much to do and see in the surrounding area. Laojia itself also offers activities, we did a calligraphy workshop and went hiking. The vegetarian meals are good, and you can always decide if you want to join dinner quite short notice, which was nice for us because our days were spontaneous. ”
— Sophie, Netherland
Langshi Impression