STORIES

TERRACES IN THE SKY - YUANYANG'S SPECTACULAR RICE FIELDS

In the mountains of south central Yunnan Province in China, near the border with Vietnam and Laos, some of the most astounding and largest rice terraces on earth spread out over 100 square kilometers on the sides of a high ridge between two valleys. This terraced field agricultural civilization has been the domain of the Hani ethnic minority group for over a millennium. It is an ingenious self sustaining ecosystem where the entire field is fed by spring water from the forests above, with the appropriate amount allocated to each terrace. In the wintertime, before the rice planting season, the fields are at their most spectacular when they are filled with water and reflect the colours in the sky above. The shifting clouds creates a dynamic landscape, occasionally obscuring views completely and other times opening the curtain to fleeting moments that are never the same.

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