Thousand-year-old terraced fields appear like emeralds dotting mountains in SW China's Yunnan

Photo shows the morning scenery of terraced fields in Dayutang village, Yuanyang county, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Hu Yanhui)

Terraced fields in Yuanyang county, Honghe county, Jinping county, and Lyuchun county of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, look like beautiful paintings created by people of the Hani ethnic group and other indigenous ethnic groups who have lived in the prefecture over the past more than 1,300 years.

Featuring a traditional farming system consisting of forests, villages, terraced fields, and river systems, the terraced fields of the Hani people in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture cover a total area of about 1 million mu (about 66,667 hectares) and show the wisdom of a harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

In 2013, the cultural landscape of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Today, a characteristic small town surrounded by these terraced fields is attracting tourists from all over the country. Boasting characteristic features such as the farming culture represented by the terraced fields of the Hani people, gorgeous pastoral landscapes, eco-agriculture, and ancient villages, the small town provides tourists with a special experience of rural life in the locality. Tourists can enjoy hotels converted from traditional local dwellings, fish and ducks raised in the terraced fields, and the folk songs of the Hani people.