Hani Terraced Fields 10th Anniversary of World Heritage Application, Creating a "Live" Inheritance New Style Hani | Ecology | Style
The Duoyi Tree Terraced Fields in the core area of Hani Terraced Fields in Yuanyang, captured on May 8th. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shiping
Kunming, June 24th (Xinhua) - Planting rice, raising fish, and feeding ducks... This is the daily routine of Li Zhengfu, a villager from Dayutang Village, in terraced fields. This "rice fish duck" farming method has been passed down for thousands of years for the Hani people.
Li Zhengfu's terraced fields are located in Dayutang Village, Yuanyang County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, which is also the core area of Hani terraced fields.
The Hani terraced fields of Honghe State is distributed in Yuanyang, Lvchun, Honghe and Jinping counties in the south of Ailao Mountain. In June 2013, the the Hani terraced fields of Honghe State cultural landscape was included in the The World Heritage List, becoming the first world heritage named after a nation in China.
For thousands of years, the Hani people have utilized complex water canal systems to introduce water from the lush mountaintops into terraced fields, constructing a circular agricultural ecosystem with forests, villages, terraced fields, and water systems.
The beautiful scenery of Hani terraced fields in Yuanyang County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, captured on March 16th. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Wenyao
However, Ailao Mountain has steep and rugged terrain, lacking large areas of flat land, making it difficult for large-scale modern agricultural equipment to cultivate here. Therefore, terraced fields have low yields and low profits, making it difficult for villagers to increase their income.
"Terraced fields are my root, and nothing can be lost. In order to protect the terraced fields while improving income, Li Zhengfu contracted the land to entrepreneurs returning to his hometown, introducing the concept of inheriting and innovating the Hani" rice fish duck "ecological planting and breeding model into Dayutang Village.".
The popularity and reputation of green premium products such as terraced red rice, rice fish, and duck eggs are constantly increasing. The development of the terraced industry has enabled world heritage brands to benefit local residents. The lives of the villagers in Dayutang Village have changed, and their income per mu is several times higher than in the past. According to statistics, the per capita disposable income of farmers in heritage areas has increased from 3928 yuan in 2013 to 12502 yuan in 2023.
Hani ancient songs, traditional agriculture, ethnic festivals and other cultures attract tourists from all over the world.
Azheke Village is a popular Hani ethnic village in Yuanyang County, and its primitive ecological culture is known as the "living" Hani residential museum. As a representative of Hani dwellings, the umbrella shaped Hani mushroom houses with thatched roofs and civil structures have been well preserved and passed down after thousands of years of baptism.
The Ba Da Terraced Fields in the core area of Hani Terraced Fields in Yuanyang, captured on May 7th. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shiping
In January 2018, Professor Bao Jigang's team of Sun Yat sen University came to investigate at the invitation of Yuanyang County Government and prepared the "Aztec Plan". Based on "housing, people and land", 65 villagers took shares in traditional houses, terraces, residences, registered residence, etc., and encouraged villagers to protect traditional houses, cultivate terraces and retain village registration with dividends.
The traditional Hani village has also undergone some new changes. "The villagers have learned to use computers and can also speak some simple English, which allows them to communicate with foreign tourists," said Liu Yang, the resident village chief of Azeko Village.
In recent years, the county has continuously increased its efforts to protect 64 traditional villages, listed 1603 households for protection of traditional dwellings, and repaired more than 4500 dwellings in heritage areas. This has enabled the dwellings and villages to retain their authenticity, uniqueness, and nostalgia.
On January 3, 2022, the Hani terraced fields located in Yuanyang County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, are filled with water and colorful under the sunlight, making them breathtaking. Shen Jizhong
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the successful application for World Heritage status of Hani terraced fields. Not long ago, during an event called "International Youth China Tour · Red River", more than ten young people from Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Peru, Thailand and other countries walked into the Hani terraced fields to experience Hani culture up close.
International youth are generous in praising the Red River. "The scenery of terraced fields is particularly beautiful, with curved shapes resembling a dance of nature." Wu Xiangcha from Vietnam described Hani terraced fields as such; Kong Mingrui, a Russian international student, believes that the Hani Terrace is a "paradise of harmony between heaven and humanity".
Life has changed, but the determination of the Hani people to inherit their own national culture has never changed. In the past ten years, the local government has explored a new way to protect the ecology, become rich and develop, and the the Hani terraced fields of Honghe State, which has been inherited for thousands of years, has been continued under the protection of Hani people.
