Luoping

Billed as "the largest natural garden in the East": spring seas of rapeseed blossom around the Jinji Peaks and the spiral Luosi Terraces, plus the Jiulong Waterfalls and the Duoyi River.

Luoping County, part of Qujing in Yunnan Province, sits where Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi meet, in the karst country on the southeastern edge of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and is billed as "the largest natural garden in the East". Every early spring, several hundred thousand mu of rapeseed bloom across the county at once, combining with karst peaks, terraced fields and Bouyei villages into a distinctive rural landscape. The best time is the rapeseed season from February to early March, when the Luoping International Rapeseed Flower Culture and Tourism Festival is usually held; in summer (Jul–Sep) the Jiulong Waterfalls are at their fullest and the Duoyi River is good for water play; autumn is cool and less crowded. The area divides roughly into three parts: northeast of town, the Jinji Peaks, the Jiulong Waterfalls and, to the north, the Luosi Terraces at Niujie form the core of the flower season; to the southeast, the Duoyi River and the Lubuge Three Gorges offer Bouyei culture and canyon scenery; to the south, the Nase Peak Forest is known for sea-of-clouds views over the karst pinnacles. Luoping has a railway station, about 3 hours from Kunming by bullet train or car, and Xingyi is about 1.5 hours away. During the flower season you can hire a car or take the seasonal shuttle buses between sights; allow 2–3 days. Tips: accommodation and transport are tight in the flower season, so book ahead; some farmers charge a fee for photos in their fields, and please don't trample the crops; UV is strong at this altitude, so protect yourself from the sun.

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