Friendship Gate On China Border Crossing Near Chinatown Of Longzhou

A first visit to Longzhou was in 1990 traveling by service bus with live piglets and ducks loaded on the roof. The journey from Nanning to Longzhou took over five hours although there was one rest stop on the way. From Longzhuo we traveled by police jeep to Pingxiang and then on to the Friendship Gate at the Chinese side of the border with Vietnam.

Returning from Pingxiang to Longzhou, we stopped to climb the series of steps leading to Longzhou's "Little Wall" and to the Buddha Shrine. It is at this Shrine that the people of Longzhou make a pilgrimage at the Spring Festival to honor their ancestors.

Summers at Longzhou are very hot, with the sun casting short shadows, but the hot roads and pavements in Longzhou are put to good use. The Longzhou people use the hot pavements to dry longan berries, which are used in cooking Chinese food.