Honghe Han Rice Terraces

Located in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, Honghe Hani rice terraces are more than 1,300 years old ^[3] . Locals and today grown on these terraces rice.

Rice terraces stretch along the entire southern bank of the Hongha River, the most famous rice terraces are in the Yuanyuan area, where they occupy an area of ​​12.6 thousand hectares (about 126 sq km). Yunnan has a particularly humid climate, which is ideal for growing rice.

Rice terraces in Bada

The people of Hani first settled in these steep mountains about 2500 years ago. About 2000 years ago, the ancestors of the Hani ethnic group settled on the banks of the Hongha River in Yunnan and laid the first rice terraces on the coastal slopes.

Subsequently, a large network of irrigation canals was developed, thanks to which the peasants used rainwater from the mountains for their fields.

Over the past 1300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of canals to deliver water from the forested mountain peaks to these terraces. They also created an integrated farming system that includes the breeding of buffalo, cattle, ducks, fish and eels, as well as supporting the production of red rice, the main crop of the area ^[4] .

At the same time, on rice terraces began to breed fish, for this were quite favorable conditions - the presence of ponds and food (aquatic plants and insects). Thanks to fish, rice received natural fertilizer.

For many centuries, the Hani farmers cultivated rice in this way, trying to keep a balance between nature and human needs.

Terraces are reflected in an exceptional way, defined by interaction with the environment established by integrated systems of agriculture and water management and supported by socio-economic and religious systems. They express a complex relationship between people and gods, and between people and society. This system has been maintained for at least a millennium, which can be proved by the extensive archival sources of China .